Jeffrey Thomas Avolese, 29, pleaded guilty in federal court to taking mail from the route he serviced as a contract driver for the U.S. Postal Service.
ASHEVILLE — A mail carrier from Forest City admitted Wednesday to stealing gifts sent by mail over a period of months.
Jeffrey Thomas Avolese, 29, pleaded guilty in federal court to taking mail from the route he serviced as a contract driver for the U.S. Postal Service. Between Dec. 25 and April 3, Avolese stole about $2,500 worth of gift cards and cash, he confirmed in court as a part of his plea.
When two postal inspectors and a police detective who suspected Avolese had been stealing mail visited him at his Forest City home on April 9, they said that he admitted to “combing through the mail he was to deliver for cards containing cash or gift cards,” according to an account of events verified by Avolese before he pleaded guilty.
The investigation began a couple weeks earlier when, in late march, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service learned of about 10 complaints from people along Avolese’s route — which included Asheville, Fairview, Chimney Rock, Bat Cave and Lake Lure, according to court documents.