The leader of a mail theft ring pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud, identity theft and drug dealing just days before his trial was set to begin.
“We were looking at one point at 50 to 60 witnesses,” said Erin Bennett, a special assistant U.S. attorney who was preparing for Jonathon Escalante’s case.
Bennett and other prosecutors received a call Friday from Escalante’s lawyer announcing the guilty plea, which was made formal in front of Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline Tuesday.
Prosecutors say 45-year-old Escalante was the leader of a group that stole mail from hundreds of boxes across the Anchorage bowl and in the Mat-Su Valley. According to the plea agreement, Ecalante and his co-conspirators stole over $40,000 in cash and goods during the scheme.
“By recruiting methamphetamine addicts, giving them meth for them to go steal mail and bring it back to him,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie Steward.
Prosecutors say Escalante was looking for checks and credit cards, and then would destroy the mail he didn’t need.
“And then get other meth addicts, by giving them meth as well, to go to banks and try to negotiate and cash the checks or use the stolen credit cards at retailers,” Steward said. “My advice in this case for people is, if you can, have a locking mailbox and request that your credit card company not send you convenience checks to your address.”
Escalante is awaiting sentencing with a minimum of five years in jail mandatory.
Bennett, who is a Municipality of Anchorage prosecutor, says there was important collaboration between local law enforcement and federal investigators to solve this case.
“It was great to be able to work on this case and coming at it from being at the municipality prosecuting cases, my knowledge of [Anchorage Police Department] procedures and how their investigations work,” said Bennett, who is part of a rotation program that places municipal prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office.