Memphis, TN - A U.S. Postal Service mail carrier has been sentenced for conspiring to distribute oxycodone and marijuana through the mail. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.
According to the information presented in court, Frederick Burton, 52, of Memphis, had been employed as a mail carrier since 2001. Between late 2013 and the spring of 2014, Burton arranged with the leaders of a drug trafficking organization to have express mail packages containing controlled substances mailed to addresses on his mail route. In exchange for cash, Burton would divert those packages to members of the drug trafficking organization. Law enforcement investigators captured surveillance on over two dozen instances which showed Burton diverting packages to persons off of his assigned postal route. A conservative estimate revealed that Burton distributed over 800 kilograms of marijuana and oxycodone.
In February 2016, Burton pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute oxycodone, and one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute marijuana.
On Wednesday, May 11, 2016, Burton was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman to five years imprisonment. In sentencing Burton, Judge Lipman noted the abuse of a position of public trust, considering Burton’s long career with the Postal Service. Burton is currently on leave without pay from the Postal Service.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspectors, and the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Reagan Taylor prosecuted this case on the government’s behalf.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
