DOJ Press Release – August 7, 2020
BOSTON – A U.S. Postal employee was indicted yesterday in connection with stealing mail believed to contain controlled substances.

Shawn M. Herron, 44, of Whitman, Mass., was indicted on one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute and one count of theft of mail by a postal employee. Herron was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in February 2020.

According to court documents, Herron has been employed by the Postal Service since September 2005, most recently as a Manager of Customer Services at the Fall River Post Office (FPO). Prior to this position, he was the Supervisor of Customer Service at the Canton Post Office.

It is alleged that Herron tracked packages he suspected of containing narcotics and, rather than dealing with them appropriately, opened them and stole the contents. Herron profiled priority parcels from Puerto Rico and west coast U.S. states, and parcels flagged by law enforcement as potentially containing illegal narcotics, and then removed them from the U.S Mail stream. Herron tracked the suspected parcels through Postal Service databases and monitored their arrival at the FPO. After their arrival Herron located the parcels and brought them to his personal office space, where he stole the narcotics for distribution.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and up to a $500,000 fine. The charge of theft of mail provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Matthew M. Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; and Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris of Lelling’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: USAO-MA | Department of Justice