BOSTON – A former Fitchburg postal employee pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to obstruction of mails.

Stephen Lehto, 37, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of obstruction of mails. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy scheduled sentencing for April 13, 2018.

While working as a postal carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS) at the Fitchburg Post Office between June 2016 and January 2017, Lehto began taking mail home instead of delivering it along his route.  Law enforcement agents received a tip and interviewed Lehto at his home. Lehto admitted to taking mail home and provided consent to the agents to search his vehicle for mail. The agents located and recovered a total of 758 pieces of mail from Lehto’s vehicle, 341 pieces of which were first class pieces of mail.

The charge of obstruction provides for a sentence of no greater than six months in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $5,000. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal magistrate judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Eileen Neff, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Area Field Office, United States Postal Service Office of Inspector, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.