Man gets 2 months in jail for mail theft
A 51-year-old former Mill Creek resident will spend about two months in jail after pleading guilty to stealing more than 1,000 items from the U.S. mail and reselling them on eBay.
Mark Hoggay, who now lives in Arlington Heights, pleaded guilty to felony theft Tuesday and was sentenced to 120 days in jail and four years of probation.
He is eligible for day-for-day credit and also spent 12 days behind bars following his arrest in August 2006 after a search of his home on the 39W200 block of East Burnham Lane in an unincorporated area near Geneva.
"This is a case that's based on greed," said Assistant State's Attorney Justin Fitzsimmons.
Authorities said Hoggay stole sports trading cards, jewelry, DVDs, stamps and other items he had access to as a high-ranking executive of a storage company contracted by the U.S. Postal Service to repair and replace postal storage equipment.
An investigation was spurred by a complaint from an eBay customer who bought New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's rookie card but never received it. The customer then alerted authorities after seeing a similar card for sale on eBay.
Fitzsimmons said a U.S. Postal Service forensics team will work to return stolen items to their rightful owners. But he said it was impossible to track down and return some of the $14,000 worth of items Hoggay was accused of reselling online.
"This defendant had no criminal history. This is an appropriate sentence, considering that most of the evidence can be returned to the people or businesses it was meant to go to," said Fitzsimmons afterward. "This defendant now has a felony conviction on his record for the rest of his life."
After an evaluation, the court probation department also could impose further conditions on Hoggay, such as random drug and alcohol testing.
If he violates probation, prosecutors could bring him back to court seeking a prison term of seven years.
During a short hearing Tuesday, Hoggay answered "yes" to questions posed by Judge Grant Wegner on whether Hoggay understood the guilty plea.
Hoggay declined to comment following his hearing. He must report to jail Jan. 11.
His live-in girlfriend, Nancee Fosha, 42, also is charged with felony theft.
Authorities don't believe she participated in the scheme, but knew about it. She is due in court Dec. 20.