Three U.S. Postal employees in Akron and a fourth man were indicted for a conspiracy in which they stole packages containing marijuana from the U.S. mail and then sold the drugs, said David A. Sierleja, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Named in the three-count indictment are: Rabih Kairouz, 29, of Akron; Anton D. Easter, Jr., 26, of Akron; Scott Gay, Jr., 33, of Canton, and Corey Turnbull, 26, of Ravenna.
Kairouz, Gay and Turnbull worked for the U.S. Postal Service. Kairouz and Turnbull worked as a supervisor at the Five Points station in Akron while Gay was a manager at the North Hill station, according to court documents.
Together, intercepted suspected drug parcels at U.S. Post Offices in Akron, opened the parcels, removed marijuana contained inside, sold the marijuana to Easter and shared the profits. This took place between February and May 2017, according to the indictment.
Kairouz also had a kilogram of methamphetamine that he stole from the mail, according to the indictment.
If convicted, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the
characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Akron Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry F. DeBaggis and Teresa L. Riley.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
