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| 06-10-03: Guilty plea entered by former postmaster |
By SEAN RICE
The Daily Standard
COLDWATER - Former Coldwater Postmaster Bruce Taylor has plead guilty
to embezzling money from the post office and a sentencing hearing is expected to happen
within the month.
Taylor plead guilty to the felony charge on March 13, less than two
weeks after his indictment. On May 28, Judge James G. Carr formally accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Bauer told The Daily Standard on Monday that a sentencing
date has not yet been set, but he expects the sentencing hearing to happen within the
month.
Bauer said a pre-sentencing report is being compiled, "so the
judge can be fully informed before he imposed a sentence."
Taylor faces a maximum penalty of a $250,000 fine, 10 years in prison,
or both, for embezzling $34,444 in postal funds from April 2001 until he was removed from
office in October 2002, Bauer said.
The U.S. attorney said Taylor had two main methods he used to steal
money from the U.S. Postal Service.
"Some of the larger postal customers, institutional customers, had
trust accounts with the postal office. So when they would make a payment to the post
office for bulk mailing, this money was supposed to go into this trust account, but
instead he was taking the money," Bauer told The Daily Standard.
"The other way he was doing it, was he was using money orders to
pay personal bills," Bauer continued. "He was just making out the money orders,
but not paying for them and sending them away."
A new postmaster already has been appointed to the Coldwater Post
Office, which has been filled by a temporary postmaster since Taylor left the office.
Marjorie Luthman of Versailles will be sworn-in Friday to fill the seat permanently, the
Coldwater Village Council learned on Monday night.
A call placed to Taylor's Coldwater phone number revealed the line was
disconnected. |
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