Senator, Congressman Introduce Bills To Address Postal Managers Unreasonable Workload
Filed under: Postmasters, politics, postal, postal managers, postal supervisors, usps
From the Postmasters.org website:
“Senator Akaka (D HI) and Congressman Gerald Connolly (D VA) have both introduced a bill that would add language to title 39 that puts into law that postmasters and other supervisory personnel shall have a reasonable and sustainable workload and schedule. These bills both address the unreasonable overload that the Postal Service has placed on managers over the last several years. The bills would also clarify certain provisions concerning consultation and changes or terminations in certain proposals.- The League, along with Napus and Naps, supports these bills.”
Former Postmaster Convicted of Plotting to Kill His Rural Carrier Ex-Wife Over Pension Loses Appeal
David Willis was convicted by a jury of soliciting murder using a facility of interstate commerce and promising payment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 373; and using a facility of interstate commerce with the intent that murder for hire be committed, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958. The district court sentenced Willis to 210 months’ imprisonment, a sentence at the bottom of the Sentencing Guidelines range. Willis appeals, raising three issues: (1) the district court committed plain error by failing to instruct the jury on entrapment; (2) the district court erred by not granting Willis a new trial based on allegedly false testimony from a Government witness; and (3) the district court imposed a procedurally unreasonable sentence. We affirm. Read more
South Dakota Postmaster Pleads Guilty to Theft
US Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Colleen K. Mouw,age 52, of Elk Point, SD, appeared before US Magistrate Judge John E. Simko on March 25, and pled guilty to an Information that charged her with theft of government funds. The maximum penalty upon conviction is one year in prison and/or a $100,000 fine, plus restitution. Mouw was the postmaster at the Jefferson, South Dakota, Post Office. Between May 2007 and May 26, 2009,she made application to the United States Postal Service and received reimbursement for expenses she indicated were incurred on behalf of the Postal Service, which expenses were not reimbursable. The amount stolen was less than $1,000. The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Connie Larson. A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date will be set. The defendant was released on bond pending sentencing.
Former California Postmaster Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement
Press Release from the United States Attorney’s office Eastern District of California
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that NANCY R. SCIOLINO, 52, of Lodi, pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement this morning before United States District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez, who is prosecuting the case, from December 2007 through September 2008, SCIOLINO stole the cash reserve of the Farmington Post Office, located at 25320 East Highway 4. The cash reserve was entrusted to SCIOLINO in order for her to make authorized post office expenses and for her to provide change to counter postal clerks she supervised. SCIOLINO incrementally stole the cash reserve and then falsified documents to cover her theft and embezzlement. This morning SCIOLINO admitted that she used over $1,000 in U.S. currency in the cash reserve to make personal expenditures and to pay nongovernmental expenses. SCIOLINO had been employed by the U.S. Post Office since February 1985 and, at the time of her theft, SCIOLINO was the acting Post Master of the Farmington Post Office.
SCIOLINO was convicted of felony embezzlement of postal funds during the performance of her duties. SCIOLINO is scheduled to be sentenced for her theft offense on April 26, 2010. The maximum penalty SCIOLINO faces is 10 years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Former Postmaster Sentenced To Prison
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Malcolm L. Howell, 49, of Athens, Mercer County, West Virginia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Irene C. Berger to five months in prison followed by five months home confinement for misappropriation of federal funds. Howell previously pled guilty in September 2009, admitting that over a period of four years he stole over $36,000 in postal funds while serving as the Postmaster in Peterstown, West Virginia. In addition to his term of imprisonment, Howell was ordered to pay restitution to the United States Postal Service.
The United States Postal Inspection Service, Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney John L. File handled the prosecution.
Appeals Court Upholds Demotion of California Postmaster
Robert Di Paolo appeals a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB” or “Board”) sustaining his demotion from the position of Postmaster to Supervisor in the Lincoln Post Office, Sacramento District, Pacific Area. The demotion was based on four charges: (1) inappropriate stamp purchases, (2) receipt of alcohol on postal property, (3) failure to follow instructions, and (4) inappropriate use of information technology.
In his brief to this court, Mr. Di Paolo raises several challenges to each of the four charges. Although some of Mr. Di Paolo’s arguments are persuasive as to the severity of each charge individually, they do not refute the administrative judge’s ultimate conclusion that all four charges, when considered together, justify the penalty imposed. Because the penalty imposed was demotion, as opposed to removal from service, the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) need not show that Mr. Di Paolo was unfit to serve or supervise. The USPS need only show that the totality of the four charges establishes that Mr. Di Paolo’s performance did not comport with the exemplary level of responsibility associated with the position of Postmaster. Because the USPS met this burden, we agree that Mr. Di Paolo’s demotion promotes the efficiency of the service. We therefore affirm the decision of the MSPB.
US Court of Appeals For the Federal Circuit
Mr. Di Paolo has served in the USPS for over twenty-eight years. He acquired the position of EAS-21 Postmaster of the Lincoln Post Office in 2005. After around two years of service as Postmaster, Mr. Di Paolo was demoted to EAS-17 Supervisor of Computerized Forwarding Operations Services. Mr. Di Paolo challenged this adverse action before an administrative judge. Although the administrative judge accepted some of Mr. Di Paolo’s arguments, he sustained at least in part the four charges against Mr. Di Paolo and found that demotion was an appropriate penalty. Mr. Di Paolo then petitioned for review before the MSPB. The Board agreed with the administrative judge and affirmed the USPS action. Mr. Di Paolo now appeals to this court. We have jurisdiction over the appeals from the MSPB pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 7703. Read more
Postmasters Say USPS Management Styles Are Like Some Banana Republic Dictators
Excerpts from National League Postmasters President Charley Mapa:
I just returned from the LEAGUE’S Western Area II meeting held in Kansas City Missouri. In the thick of times when the constant message of the Postal Service is doom and woe, here was a group of LEAGUE Postmasters gathered to do the things that the LEAGUE does so well; train, brainstorm, problem solve, network, train some more and take time to have fun!….Where the Postal Service seems to spend an inordinate amount of time in some districts tearing Postmasters down and humiliating them, LEAGUE Postmasters gathered to support one another and build one another up. There was no Area VP, no district manager, and no POOM. The entire atmosphere of the conference was refreshingly positive.
I don’t want to make the 3 day meeting sound like some it was a modern day Postmasters’ Woodstock love fest, for it was not. Serious issues were discussed, issues like the future of an NPA/PFP program that might have lost its effectiveness, districts hounding Postmasters for having the courage to stand up for other Postmasters, districts whose management styles reflect something more in tune with some Banana Republic Dictators than with what should be expected of Public Servants treating their managers with respect, dealing with the threat of a Postal Service turning its back on the American people by wholesale closings of post offices and the constant shifting of workload from hardworking clerks, carriers and supervisors to the backs of Postmasters. Read more