May 30, 2014

Former USPS Employee Sentenced to 42 Months in Federal Prison for Bribery, Fraud, and Tax Offenses

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Tom Frost, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Major Fraud Investigations Division, announced that former U.S. Postal Service employee ROBERT GIULIETTI, 57, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 42 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for bribery, fraud, and tax offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, GIULIETTI was a facilities project manager for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) at the USPS Northeast Facilities Office in Windsor, Connecticut. GIULIETTI’s duties included recommending and selecting facilities improvement contractors, reviewing and approving bids received from those contractors for USPS work, certifying the completion of work by contractors, and approving payment authorizations. GIULIETTI has admitted that he accepted approximately $89,000 from two contractors to direct inflated USPS facilities construction contracts to them.

Also, in approximately September 2009, GIULIETTI formed MGC LLC to do business with the USPS on projects on which he worked. MGC was owned in name by GIULIETTI’s wife, and its business address was his home address in Cheshire. Operating MGC from his USPS office in Windsor, GIULIETTI used his position to direct USPS contracts to MGC, to approve MGC’s work and to authorize payment to MGC for work. After GIULIETTI directed USPS contracts to MGC, he engaged other contractors to perform the actual work involved with each project. GIULIETTI generated almost a million dollars in profit by having MGC charge USPS more than MGC had to pay the contractors who performed the actual work.

Between November 2009 and November 2011, GIULIETTI directed more than 150 USPS facility projects to MGC, causing a loss to the USPS of approximately $982,064.68.

GIULIETTI also filed false federal income tax returns for the 2008 through 2011 tax years by fraudulently deducting payments from MGC to members of his family, and by not reporting the corrupt payments that he received.

“The prosecution of corrupt public employees is a top priority of this Office,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly. “This defendant not only accepted bribes and defrauded the U.S. Postal Service of nearly a million dollars, but he cheated on his taxes, as well. It is intolerable criminal conduct. I commend the USPS Office of Inspector General, the Connecticut FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation for their excellent work in this investigation, which included the seizure of significant assets.”

“The priority mission of the USPS-OIG Major Fraud Investigations Division is to protect the integrity and improve the economy of the U.S. Postal Service through vigorous investigation of schemes designed to defraud it,” stated Special Agent in Charge Frost. “Mr. Giulietti put the desire for his own personal enrichment ahead of his duty when he betrayed his position of trust and defrauded the U.S. Postal Service. His sentencing today is the inevitable outcome of his actions.”

GIULIETTI was arrested on December 13, 2012. On February 7, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of bribery of a public official, one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.

As part of his sentence, GIULIETTI is required to pay restitution in the amount of $882,064.68, and back taxes penalties and interest in the amount of $291,026.82. Judge Underhill ordered the forfeiture of a residence GIULIETTI owns on South Pond Circle in Cheshire, a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox, and approximately $740,000 that was seized from bank accounts.

GIULIETTI was ordered to report to prison on July 23, 2014.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Francis and Eric Glover.