Manager at Windsor Postal Facility Pleads Guilty in $1M Fraud

Robert Giulietti, 57, of Cheshire, a former manager at the U.S. Postal Service's Northeast Facilities Office in Windsor, pleaded guilty to a scheme of defrauding the postal service of nearly $1 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Connecticut announced in this news release late Friday afternoon:

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Tom Frost, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Major Fraud Investigations Division, Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and John Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, announced that former U.S. Postal Service employee Robert Giulietti, 57, of Cheshire, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 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 at the USPS Northeast Facilities Office in Windsor, Conn. 

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.

In pleading guilty, Giulietti 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 the 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.

“This defendant was a corrupt federal employee who perpetrated a multifaceted and brazen scheme that defrauded the Postal Service of nearly a million dollars,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly. 

“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 of approximately $740,000 in cash and a house in Cheshire.”

“The Office of Inspector General will continue to pursue instances in which contractors and employees attempt to take advantage of the Postal Service and commit fraud,” stated Special Agent in Charge Frost.

“This should serve notice to all contractors and employees that such conduct, as perpetrated by Mr. Giulietti in this case, will be fully investigated.” Giulietti was arrested on December 13, 2012. 

Today, 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. 

Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for May 2, 2014, at which time Giulietti faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 38 years. Giulietti has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $882,064.68, and back taxes penalties and interest in the amount of $291,026.82. 

The government is seeking the forfeiture of a residence Giulietti owns on South Pond Circle in Cheshire, and approximately $740,000 that has been seized from bank accounts.

U.S. Attorney Daly noted that the investigation is ongoing. This case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric J. Glover.