By: Richard L. Smith
Joseph Fenuto, a 51-year-old postal employee from Blackwood, confessed in federal court to stealing more than $170,000 in cash sent through the mail.
United States Attorney Philip R. Sellinger reported that Fenuto pleaded guilty to mail theft before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O'Hearn in Camden.
Court documents and statements reveal that between November 2021 and August 2022, while employed as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, Fenuto was responsible for a route that included the Gloucester Premium Outlets in Blackwood.
His duties involved accepting parcels from various retail stores to be placed in the mail for delivery.
These parcels often contained cash earnings from the stores' sales.
Fenuto admitted to pilfering over 50 such cash-laden parcels from multiple retail establishments at the Outlets.
He confessed to stealing a total of $171,110, which was meant to be mailed to a bank in Ohio.
This act of mail theft carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Fenuto's sentencing is set for April 2, 2024.