Former Post Office Employee Convicted for Theft

Sergio Patt

A former employee at the Post Office in Belize is spending his first night behind bars.  Thirty-two-year old Sergio Alonso Patt, of San Jose Village, Orange Walk Town was arraigned today on six counts of theft from the Government Postal Services in Belize City. As we reported last week, Patt was accused of stealing twenty-thousand six hundred dollars from the Post Office in the period between July first and December thirty-first, 2015. He was picked up in Corozal Town on Saturday and on arraignment today, he pleaded guilty to theft. The money went missing when Patt was at the Post Express Mail Section. Before sentencing, Patt who was unrepresented in court, begged for leniency asking the court to take into consideration that he is a first time offender with three children ages eight, seven and three. He told the court that he took the money because he had a sick mother and his wife had died.  But Magistrate Carlon Mendoza made it clear that people cannot steal money and get away with it. So he imposed a one-year sentence on each count, but Patt will serve one year in prison because the sentences run concurrently. The money was stolen in five tranches: the first was three hundred dollars, the second was two thousand eight hundred and fifty-five dollars; the third, three thousand eight hundred and fifteen dollars; the fourth and largest sum was five thousand eight hundred and fifteen dollars and the fifth was two thousand and forty dollars.  The theft report was made after an audit was completed showing that Patt was handling and collecting money but would produce fraudulent spread sheet reports to hide the misdeeds.