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Hartford County resident Nathaniel Bonilla, age 32, of Bristol, pleaded guilty on Monday, Nov. 1, to theft of mail by a postal employee, according to Leonard Boyle, acting United States attorney for the District of Connecticut.
The US Attorney's Office said Bonilla worked as a mail processing clerk at the US Postal Service’s Process and Distribution Center in Hartford.
Between April 2020 and October 2020, Bonilla opened mail envelopes with a razor blade, and he took cash and dozens of gift cards or prepaid debit cards for his own use, Boyle said.
In September of 2020, a woman mailed a letter with a $500 Home Depot gift card enclosed to a family member in Torrington.
When the Torrington resident received the envelope, they saw it had been opened and the gift card was taken.
In-store surveillance at a Home Depot later showed Bonilla using the gift card, Boyle reported.
The US Attorney's Office said investigators confronted Bonilla on Oct. 16, 2020, as he was opening a letter using a razor blade.
Investigators also found 44 gift cards Bonilla had stolen at work in his personal bag and found 37 envelopes opened at his workstation, Boyle said.
He was arrested on Nov. 20, 2020, the US Attorney's Office reported.
Boyle said Bonilla is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20, 2022.
The case is being investigated by the US Postal Service and the Office of Inspector General.
Those who believe they are a victim of mail theft can file a complaint by calling 888-USPS-OIG, or file a complaint online here.
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