Montgomery, Alabama – On August 8, 2023, a federal judge sentenced John Eugene Dibello, 41, from Pasadena, Texas, to 43 months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud and the separate offense of aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. In addition, the judge also ordered that Dibello serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
According to his plea agreement and other court records, in late 2021, Dibello and a companion – 30-year-old Taelor Amie Owens from Houston, Texas – traveled to Alabama so that Owens could visit family. While in Troy, Dibello and Owens broke into several mailboxes and stole mail that included checks and identity information. Dibello and Owens then used the identity information they acquired to cash the stolen checks and pocket the proceeds. Investigators discovered that Dibello and Owens were staying in a hotel in Pike County and found more stolen mail from Texas inside their room. Among their belongings were also a post office arrow key (a universal key used by postal workers to access collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, cluster box units, and apartment panels) and at least two fake identities, one for each of them.
On May 25, 2023, Owens pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy and aggravated identity theft offenses as those to which DiBello pleaded guilty. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Owens on September 28, 2023. At that proceeding, she will face a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and a maximum of 30 years.
The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Troy Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Megan A. Kirkpatrick is prosecuting the case.
Article submitted by U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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