David X. Sullivan, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Ernesto Rodriguez, Jr., 31, formerly of East Hartford and currently residing in Tampa, Florida, has pleaded guilty to a charge related to the theft of a U.S. Treasury check from the mail while employed by the U.S. Postal Service.
Court documents reveal that in 2021, Rodriguez was approached by an acquaintance to intercept federal tax refund checks along his mail carrier route in Glastonbury. After taking these checks, he would deliver them to an unknown individual in New York and receive approximately $100 per check. Rodriguez provided information about his route so that refund checks could be sent to specific addresses and was given around 10 names and addresses for this purpose.
In October 2021, Rodriguez stole a U.S. Treasury tax refund check worth $4,943.17 before it reached its intended recipient on his route. He deposited this check into his wife’s bank account on October 23, 2021, then transferred $4,500 from her account to his own two days later for personal use.
Rodriguez resigned from the U.S. Postal Service on October 23, 2021. He admitted to law enforcement that he only stole one check as part of this scheme.
He pleaded guilty to theft of public money, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment. Sentencing is set for September 24, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford.
Rodriguez is currently released on a $15,000 bond pending sentencing.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel is prosecuting the case.
