A former U.S. Postal Service letter carrier will spend three months in federal prison after he made a lucky guess that two packages contained marijuana, and he stole them.
Thomas Schaefer, 44, of Broadview Heights stole the packages in 2017 with more than 10 pounds of weed when he worked at the Newburg Post Office on Broadway Avenue in Cleveland, federal prosecutors say.
He took one package in March 2017 that was destined for a Dolloff Road home in Cleveland. He suspected there was weed in the package and he was right. He found four vacuum-sealed one-pound bags inside and plucked them out of the mail for himself.
He took another package Aug. 4 that was destined for a home on Melgrove Avenue in Garfield Heights. That package had more than six pounds of marijuana, officials say.
Schaefer pleaded guilty in December to theft of mail by an employee. U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko handed down the sentence.
His sentencing memo says he resigned from the Post Office following his arrest and found another job. He works part-time at FedEx, and his salary has been cut in half, the memo states.
