Press Release from the U.S. Department of JusticeMarquette, Michigan – Jeffrey William Bess, 43, of Ishpeming, Michigan, was sentenced to 2 months in prison for unlawfully opening U.S. Mail, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell also directed Bess to serve one year of supervised release after his prison sentence is complete, with the first six months in home confinement, and to pay a $1,000 fine.

On July 15, 2008, Bess, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, was working in the Marquette, Michigan Post Office, and was observed removing mail from bins by agents from the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. When confronted by the agents, Bess confessed to opening greeting cards and other mail in the hope of finding cash inside. Bess admitted that he had been opening mail for just over a month when he was caught.

U.S. Attorney Davis commended the agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General for their outstanding work on the case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D. Lochner.