Main Line Man Gets 7 Years For Bribing Mailmen To Deliver Drugs

A Main Line man will spend more than seven years in federal prison after bribing mail carriers to deliver thousands of pounds marijuana to West Philadelphia locations, authorities said Friday.

U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Tafari Riley, 26, of Bala Cynwyd, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison the bribing the carriers.

Between April and December 2016, Riley paid two United States mail carriers, co-defendants Steven C. Williams and Felicia Charleston, to deliver packages with large amounts of marijuana to Riley which were addressed to fake names.

Riley ultimately possessed and distributed more than 6,020 pounds of marijuana through this scheme.

Charleston was sentenced in May to 10 months in prison. Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on August 1.

Law enforcement twice blocked Riley’s drug trafficking efforts, authorities said.

On Oct. 29, 2016, law enforcement intercepted and seized 158 pounds of marijuana at the post office before it had been delivered to Riley. Then, on September 15, 2017, agents seized 114 pounds of marijuana after it was delivered to Riley for distribution.

"The defendant bribed two federal employees to cultivate a booming marijuana business with no regard for the consequences of his actions," McSwain said. "He abused the postal system, endangered those who lawfully use it, and corrupted two people entrusted with protecting it. Now he has received the punishment he deserves."

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Border Enforcement Security Taskforce (BEST), and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Narcotics Investigations (BNI) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anita Eve and Tomika N.S. Patterson.

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