Former mail carrier gets prison for thefts

A former mail carrier in the suburbs has been sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison for stealing mail containing more than $275,000 in charitable donations.

U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve sentenced 41-year-old Frederick Taylor of Chicago on Tuesday.

Taylor pleaded guilty in August to possessing stolen mail. He admitted then he had more than 29,000 donation envelopes at his home.

The judge ordered Taylor to begin serving his sentence on Feb. 21. She also ordered him to pay more than $275,000 in restitution to a third-party trust administrator that covered the charity’s loss.

Court records say Taylor — a mail carrier in West suburban Berwyn — would open mail inside his post office vehicle and steal the contents, or take mail home and open it there.