A U.S. Postal Service employee has pleaded guilty to federal charges after authorities say he used his position at a Florida mail processing facility to identify packages containing marijuana, cut them open and steal their contents.
Divincent M. Madison Jr., 25, of Pensacola, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of mail by a postal employee, one count of delay or destruction of mail and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
The charges stem from Madison’s employment at the U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center in Pensacola.
According to court documents cited by federal prosecutors, Madison would smell packages moving through the facility in an effort to identify those containing marijuana. He would then cut open the packages and remove the marijuana.
Federal agents intercepted Madison as he was leaving work in July 2023 and found more than 1,000 grams, or roughly 2.2 pounds, of marijuana inside his lunchbox, prosecutors said.
Authorities said the conduct did not end with that seizure.
Later that same day, Madison attempted to have another postal employee retrieve a package he had hidden inside the distribution center. The package contained an additional 448 grams, or just under one pound, of marijuana.
Madison was federally indicted in April on the same three charges to which he has now pleaded guilty. At the time of the indictment, prosecutors alleged that his conduct violated federal laws governing interference with the mail, theft by postal employees and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 10 before U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II in Pensacola.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher C. Patterson and Brooke Lindsay are prosecuting the case.
