By Cathy Locke
clocke@sabee.com
A Rancho Cordova man was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for bank fraud and theft of U.S. mail.
U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller also sentenced Ron Molano Taitano, 25, to three years of supervised release following his prison term, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
Officials said Taitano was involved in multiple schemes to steal U.S. mail from postal vehicles, apartment complexes and neighborhood collection box units.
According to court documents, Taitano and his associates stole from parked postal vehicles in Sacramento County neighborhoods while carriers were delivering mail. He used checks taken from stolen mail to defraud banks, and to trade for cash, drugs and other services.
Taitano was sentenced for stealing more than 400 items of U.S. mail on multiple dates in 2010, possessing stolen mail and defrauding Wells Fargo Bank by falsely endorsing and negotiating a check stolen from the mail. He was remanded to federal custody after the sentencing hearing.
Two of Taitano's associates, Traci M. Linzmeier, 37, of Sacramento, and Bunny Leroy Fallis, 32, of Rancho Cordova, previously pleaded guilty in related cases.
Linzmeier pleaded guilty Sept. 13, 2010 to two counts of theft of U.S. mail and two counts of wire fraud related to her use of the stolen mail. She admitted in her plea that on several occasions in 2010 she and others broke into parked Postal Service trucks and delivery vehicles and stole trays of U.S. mail.
Linzmeier was sentenced Jan. 10 to 15 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release.
Fallis pleaded guilty Sept. 13, 2010 to multiple counts of bank fraud, fraudulent use and possession of five or more identification documents and possession of stolen U.S. mail. He admitted in his guilty plea that he collected and purchased stolen mail to obtain identification documents and checks, and used them to fraudulently obtain merchandise.
Fallis is in federal custody and is to be sentenced April 4.
The case was the result of investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Rancho Cordova Police Department and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
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