News Releases from the United States Attorney, Northern District of New York
Martville, New York – Letter Carrier and Husband enter guilty pleas to making false statements and representations to obtain federal workers compensation benefits.
Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York,announced today that TRACEY RAPONI, age 41, and GALE RAPONI, age 56, of Martville, New York entered guilty pleas Monday, April 30, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Syracuse, New York before the Hon. Norman A. Mordue, U.S. District Court Judge.
TRACEY RAPONI, a letter carrier with the U.S. Post Office in Fulton, N.Y., admitted to defrauding the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Department of Labor of $326,467.88 by making false statements and representations to obtain federal workers compensation benefits. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 5 years incarceration, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of three years, and a special assessment of $100.
GALE RAPONI, husband of TRACEY RAPONI, admitted to making a false statement in connection with his wife’s receipt of federal workers compensation benefits. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 5 years incarceration, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of three years, and a special assessment of $100.
In entering her guilty plea, TRACEY RAPONI admitted in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1920, that she falsely represented that she was not employed, self-employed, or involved in a business enterprise during a period that she was collecting workers compensation benefits. In fact, TRACEY RAPONI, worked for Tuff-N-Uff Kennels, a dog breeding, boarding, and training business owned by her husband GALE RAPONI.
GALE RAPONI admitted in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, that he told a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Labor that his wife had nothing to do with Tuff-N-Uff Kennels, when in truth, as GALE RAPONI well knew, TRACEY RAPONI worked for and at Tuff-N-Uff Kennels breeding dogs, exercising dogs, receiving fees for kennel services, registering dogs, vaccinating dogs, administering medications to dogs, transporting dogs to and from veterinary offices, and writing checks for goods and services utilized in the kennel’s business.
Sentencing has been set for September 12, 2012, in Syracuse, New York.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
Further information regarding this case can be obtained by contacting Assistant United States Attorney Tamara Thomson at (315) 448-0672.
Letter Carrier entered a guilty plea to defrauding the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Department of Labor of $5,647.36
Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced today that DANIEL MARKEL, age 51, of Syracuse, New York entered a guilty plea Monday, April 16, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Syracuse, New York before the Hon. David E.Peebles, U.S. Magistrate Judge. MARKEL, a letter carrier with the U.S. Post Office in Auburn,N.Y., admitted to defrauding the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Department of Labor of $5,647.36 by making false statements and representations to obtain federal workers compensation benefits. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 1 year incarceration and a $100,000 fine.
In entering his guilty plea, MARKEL admitted in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1920 and 2(b),that he falsely represented that he was not incarcerated during a period that he was collecting workers compensation benefits. If MARKEL had truthfully disclosed the fact of his incarceration, his workers compensation benefits would have been suspended during the period of his incarceration.
Sentencing has been set for August 14, 2012, in Syracuse, New York.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
Further information regarding this case can be obtained by contacting Assistant United States Attorney Tamara Thomson at (315) 448-0672.
While you and I are worrying about whether we’ll retire or whether the APWU will be able to save our jobs, the following might interest you about something you have paid for with your union dues that you will be unable to enjoy like our union officers do:
APWU Officers Qualified Retirement Plan is a 401k plan which has $55,398,175 net assets as of end of year, which is drastically more than the average for all Company 401k Plans. The plan has been in effect since 7/1/1971, and is a Multiple-Employer.
Participants
The APWU Officers Qualified Retirement Plan’s 401k plan has 119 active participants , which is slightly more than the average for all Company 401k Plans. The APWU Officers Qualified Retirement Plan 401k plan has 102 retired or separated participants receiving benefits, which is drastically more than the average for all Company 401k Plans.
So contact APWU today for a piece of their pie! You stewards should also contact them! Wonder why nothing is posted bout this on APWU.org. You didn’t know about this? You should ask bout it at the next union meeting. You should ask…and keep paying dem dues bruthas n sistas sos we can continue raking in the dough.
Let me fill everyone in on the Raponis.
The $326,457.88 in fraud against the U.S.P.D. and U.S. Dept. of Labor is what they pled guilty to. Tracy has been “out of work” for over 10 years. She received what her previous salary was for those 10 plus years, which was approx $40,000 per year, plus benefits, such as health insurance. After she had worked as a mail carrier for about one year, she invented a story about a dog attack in Fulton, while she was delivering mail as a pedestrian carrier.
The Raponis also sued the owner of the dog, who just happened to own a successful construction company, and seemed like a good target for a payoff. They sued for one million dollars, part of the suit involving Tracey’s inability to perform her “wifely duties” to her husband Gale because of her injuries.
They were offered a go-away settlement of $300,000, which they turned down, greedily thinking they were going to get more.
Several years earlier, Gale had assaulted and threatened to kill me, at a gas station, in front of a dozen witnesses. With the help of his attorney, the police served me as the perpetrator of the attack, and Gale showed up in court all “lawyered up” and hobbling with a cane. It was an Academy award performance, even if it stunk a little bit, but it got him off. Just a month later he was well enough to beat, choke, and kick his wife so badly, he got arrested for that. He was never punished for that either.
However, the wife attack was written up in the Auburn newspaper, and my wife suggested I go get a copy at the archive office and send it to the attorney representing the couple being fraudulently sued in Fulton. The entire case was eventually dismissed, the judge’s decision reflecting the likelihood that any of Tracey’s injuries are a result of one or more incidents of abuse from her husband, and not from a dog attack.
So, in court, the whole dog attack scenario was declared a likely hoax, yet Tracey still received compensation, because she was “deathly afraid of dogs” and unwilling to be an on-foot mail carrier. Why she couldn’t be a rural carrier with a vehicle, or a clerk, I don’t know. But the whole time she was receiving compensation she was a participating partner with her husband Gale breeding, raising, and training attack dogs.
In addition to the incident above, I have been threatened by one of the younger sons, in the parking lot of the Red Creek Recreation Center. I did report it there. I didn’t call the police because the police never did anything about these people. Later that evening, I was called by a policeman wanting to know what I said to make the son so mad. The policeman told me, and I’m not making this up, to “Stay away from the Rec Center.”
This son, and one other, has tried to run me off the road on three separate occasions.
These two sons and probably a few others of the grown children receive social security, most likely because of the “invalid” condition of their mother.
Gale once spit at my wife, which would have been an assault, except the wind blew the spit back all over his face, which made him look both furious and stupid at the same time. Gale, numerous times, because of us taking him to court, tried, with several of his friends (because he’s too much a coward to do it on his own) to block Yuhas Drive, which he had no real vested interest in. He just wanted to show us who was boss. He once even had a Cayuga County Sheriff give him permission to do so. As far as I’m concerned, the whole C.C. Sheriff’s Dept., and the C.C. District Attorney’s Office are a waste of taxpayer money. And I’m not too impressed with the NYS Police or NYSDEC either.
The only time I’ve ever seen Gale alone was one day when I was late getting home from work to pick my daughter up at the bus stop, so she didn’t have to walk the half mile from the highway to our house. She was a Kindergartener at the time. Gale was there harassing her. Such a brave man.
Remember the news about someone shooting a wolf a while back. The wolf belonged to the Raponis. I shot it one night when it got loose and was attacking and killing our family dog. Although everyone knew it belonged to the Raponis, and I had tried to have it removed by Town Animal Control, and the DEC for years, we received no justice on that event. Fortunately, it had never attacked one of my kids.
These people have harassed, bullied, assaulted, attacked, falsely sued, and defrauded people for years. Many of us have fed information about them to various agencies over the years, including the USPS Inspectors.
So, if you’re thinking Gale and Tracey will be punished, don’t count on it. Crime has been very good to them. Gale has been convicted of disability fraud before. Usually a judgment is placed that never gets satisfied. They own a house in Martville. Tracey’s name is on the deed of a really beautiful house in Orlando, Florida, where she stays every winter because of her “bad health”, and has her mail forwarded there (including probably, the compensation checks). They own property in Arizona. The Postal Inspectors have been filled in about all this. It’s all been a gift to the Raponis from you, the taxpayer. It’s time for a tax refund.
The Raponis are currently in the process of scamming an old friend of mine, an old Chinaman from Chinatown in NYC. He raises produce which he takes to NYC to market. He has bladder cancer, and Gale Raponi and his two helpful young sons have offered to “help him out”. They never let anyone else talk to this man without all of them being there. They’ve coerced him into signing a power of attorney, and deeding some of his property over to them. They’ve confiscated and sold much of his “unneeded” equipment. And they’ve taken him for an additional $100,000 so far. I’d just love to know the name of the attorney that’s helping them with this one.
And Gale and Tracey have raised and trained a whole new generation. They’ll be out there soon, if they aren’t already, practicing what their parents taught them.
Now you all know why they’re smiling in the news videos.
Anyway, hats off to the USPS and USDOL Inspectors and Prosecutors who actually did their jobs. Let’s see if the Judge who passes sentence on Sept 12 has any balls. The Raponis and their attorneys are most likely already in the process of hiding assets. I say seize it all, satisfy the $326,457 in admitted fraud, satisfy the $250,000 in fines, and still put each of them in jail for 5 years, followed by the 3-year term of supervised release.