The Department of Justice reports on Monday that as of today all six of the former Ravn Alaska employees responsible for the theft of mail destined for several rural villages have been rounded up. Five were arrested today, and one was placed under arrest on Friday.
The arrest of the six individuals stems from an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that found that approximately $489,000 worth of mail was stolen while being transferred between U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center and the Ravn Alaska facility in Anchorage between March 2015 and April 2017.
The six individual indicted last week were:
- Congress Lepou, 29
- Breadoflife “Presley” Faiupu, 36
- Hubert Barte, 37
- Paulo Maae, 24
- Harold Velicaria, 35
- Rogelio “Roger” Daqis, 49
According to the investigators, the six indicted ramp agents used company vehicles, including the supervisor truck, to transport and steal approximately 343 Apple computers, over 650 cartons of cigarettes, over 300 cans of chewing tobacco, and prepaid cell phones during that two-year period.
The truck would then go to the Ravn employee parking lot, where the stolen goods were loaded into personal vehicles.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]The stolen mail was destined to outlying villages that included Koyuk, Kalskag, Greyling, Aniak, Alakanuk, Kotlik, Emmonak, Unalakleet, Stebbins, Mountain Village, and St Marys.
Ravn Alaska reports that they cooperated in the investigation and terminated the employment of those involved upon finding out about the massive theft.