Former Postal Employee Pleads Guilty to Mail Theft in Washington County

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Colleen McAvoy, age 54, of Shushan, New York, pled guilty today to stealing cash, gift cards and other valuable items from mailed packages while employed as a letter carrier. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Area for the United States Postal Service (USPS), Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

From August 2018 to October 2020, McAvoy was a part-time letter carrier for the USPS in Washington County, New York, based at the Cambridge Post Office.  In pleading guilty, she admitted to opening mailed packages in order to steal U.S. currency, gift cards and lottery tickets contained inside of those packages.  She admitted to stealing items worth a total of approximately $4,889.25. 

McAvoy, who pled guilty to mail theft, faces up to 5 years in prison when Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn sentences her on March 16, 2022.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.  McAvoy has also agreed to pay restitution. 

This case was investigated by the USPS, Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Village of Cambridge (N.Y.) Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.