Investigators found stolen mail in Randall Wessar's trash
SACRAMENTO, CA - A postal worker suspected of stealing prescription drugs from Sacramento military veterans has been arrested following a year-long investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, Randall Paul Wessar, 62, worked at the Parkway branch post office in south Sacramento where dozens of parcels containing prescription medication mailed by the Veterans Administration have disappeared over the past year.
News10 first reported the rash of VA drug thefts from the Parkway branch last year after being contacted by an Air Force veteran whose monthly Vicodin shipment had vanished.
Shani Lee, an agent with the U.S. Postal Service's Office of Inspector General, said in a sworn statement that undercover investigators last week watched Wessar secretly remove mail from a hamper where parcels are held to be picked up by customers.
"(Wessar) appeared to secrete the mail parcels in his clothing and/or personal belongings, and departed the Parkway post office in off-duty status," Lee wrote.
Perhaps the most damning evidence came outside Wessar's home in Wilton.
Lee said that on Tuesday, she examined the contents of Wessar's trash can at the curb in front of his home and identified a number of pieces of mail addressed to residents served by the Parkway branch, including a parcel from the VA reported missing last week.
Wessar made an initial federal court appearance Thursday following his arrest, and Friday he was ordered released on a $25,000 bond. As an additional condition of his release, Wessar will begin inpatient drug treatment on Monday.
USPS OIG Special Agent in Charge Nichole Cooper offered a written statement in response to an inquiry from News10.
"The majority of the more than 500,000 Postal employees are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals. However, when a Postal employee betrays that trust, our Special Agents vigorously investigate those matters, as has been done in this case," Cooper wrote.
by George Warren, GWarren@news10.net
News10/KXTV