Romeo Moog Talag, 56, of Hayward, was named in a complaint filed Tuesday, December 2 in US District Court in Oakland, according to a report PostalNews.com https://postalnews.com/blog/2014/12/04/california-letter-carrier-charged-with-stealing-cell-phones-from-the-mail/#more-24677 .
The investigation began in January 2013 when employees at the Irvington Post Office in Fremont found packages “in rifled condition and/or reported by customers as missing,” according to an affidavit from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.
The affidavit said most of the packages contained high-end smart phones, including iPhones and Samsung Galaxy models.
In August 2013, when an AT&T customer complained that he never got a Samsung Galaxy S4 worth $639, tracking data linked the activated phone to an account in the name Talag’s daughter, PostalNews reported.
When questioned by postal authorities Talag reportedly acknowledged that he had stolen 10 phones from the mail over two years.
A search of his home and vehicles yielded numerous cell phones, phone parts and a $50 Walmart Visa gift card that Talag reportedly admitted stealing from the mail.