Philly Mail Carrier Sentenced For Delivering Weed On Duty

PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia woman who was a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service was hit with a prison sentence after pleading guilty to using her position with the Post Office to deliver marijuana, according to federal authorities.

Felicia Charleston, 36, of Philadelphia was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for delivering packages containing marijuana to drug dealers in West Philadelphia while working as a mail carrier, according to the Eastern District of the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Charleston and several others were charged in January 2017, but Charleston sentence was handed down May 16 in federal court.

She faced a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, and a $20,250,000 fine in the case, according to federal officials.

Charleston entered a guilty plea on two separate indictments, both charging her with conspiracy to distribute at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, as well as one count of attempted possession with the intent to distribute 158 pounds of marijuana, authorities said.

"The defendant exploited her position with the United States Postal Service by conspiring with drug dealers in order to line her own pockets," U.S. Attorney McSwain said in the sentencing announcement. "Her prison sentence is a reflection of the seriousness of her crimes."

Charleston was a mail carrier at the West Market Post Office in Philadelphia and was responsible for delivering packages to addresses in West Philadelphia.

She agreed to divert postal packages containing marijuana – which listed fictitious delivery addresses – and deliver them to drug dealers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Specifically, Charleston left her postal route in order to deliver the packages to two drug organizations.

For one drug organization, Charleston delivered packages to members outside of 48 N. Hobart Street in West Philadelphia and even carried packages inside the residence. She also routed packages to another drug dealer by hand-delivering the packages at various locations in West Philadelphia, according to officials.

"The vast majority of the Postal Service’s 600,000 employees nationwide are dedicated, hard-working individuals worthy of America’s trust," Monica Weyler, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge, Philadelphia said. "However, a very small number of them choose to violate that trust by engaging in misconduct or criminal activity. Special agents with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General work with other law enforcement agencies to find those employees, investigate them, and seek their criminal prosecution and removal from the Postal Service, as we did in this case."

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