Former postal worker sentenced for bribery, drug

BOSTON >> A mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Lowell who admitted to attempting to bribe a supervisor as part of a scheme to intercept packages of cocaine to support his drug habit was sentenced to serve one day in prison.

The sentence comes after John Noviello, of Nashua, N.H., 61, pleaded guilty in federal court in November to bribery of a public official, and distribution of cocaine for selling the drug to the supervisor he attempted to bribe, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’ office.

In addition to the 24hour prison stay, U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley sentenced Noviello to three years of supervised release, with nine months spent in home detention.

A punishment of home detention, rather than a longer prison term, was requested by Noviello’s attorney, Joshua Hanye, who described his client as a remorseful man who has faced “overwhelming grief” during his lifetime.

“His crimes in this case stem from his substance abuse and lead directly back to a trauma that is difficult to comprehend,” Hanye wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed in federal court earlier this month. “He has fully accepted responsibility and changed his behavior.”

An affidavit by U.S. Postal Service Special Agent Andrew Dawson states Noviello first asked the supervisor to help him divert packages thought to contain cocaine in February 2022. The affidavit states Noviello offered to pay the supervisor $1,750 per “kilo,” or kilogram of cocaine, obtained from any of the packages.

According to Dawson’s affidavit, Noviello never used the word “drugs” when discussing the packages, but it was inferred by his reference to payment based on kilos and interest in packages from Puerto Rico, a known location for shipping illegal narcotics into the mainland U.S. by mail.

“Noviello boasted that he had been conducting the same scheme with another supervisor for about 15 years and that he pays for his second home with money from the scheme,” Dawson said in the affidavit.

Noviello told the supervisor to lie about the diverted packages if sought by their intended recipients, and dismissed the supervisor’s concerns about how those recipients might react if they were to receive empty packages.

“Noviello responded that he was not worried about such situations by saying, ‘You know how many times

I’ve had (expletive) five gang members at the door? And it’s an empty package I give them, you know how many times I’ve done that? Like (expletive) 30 times,'” Dawson said.

At one point, Noviello concealed $850 in cash in a Dunkin’ bag and left it in the supervisor’s vehicle in an attempt to encourage the supervisor to participate in the scheme. According to the affidavit, Noviello later told the supervisor, “that was a nice envelope for starters,” referring to the cash.

In April, Noviello sold approximately 4 grams of cocaine to the supervisor for $200 in a “controlled purchase” that was video- and