(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that postal worker Jovanni Jamison-Lewis, 35, of Mastic Beach, was arrested and arraigned for Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and other charges, for allegedly stealing items from envelopes placed in the mail at the Oakdale Post Office.
“Suffolk County residents depend upon the reliability of the mail service every day, and my office is committed to investigating and prosecuting any public officials who tamper with it for their own personal gain” said District Attorney Tierney. “I want to thank the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General for their hard work and cooperation in this case.”
“The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) is dedicated to protecting the U.S. Mail and the U.S. Postal Service. The special agents of the USPS OIG will tirelessly investigate those who choose to steal U.S. Mail and defraud the American public,” said Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG), Northeast Area Field Office. “This case serves as an excellent example of the successful collaboration between the USPS OIG and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to pursue and prosecute Postal Service employees involved in criminal activity. The USPS OIG is thankful for the great longstanding relationships we have developed with the District Attorney’s Office to combat mail theft.”
According to the investigation, on November 19, 2025, Jamison-Lewis, while working as a clerk in the Oakdale Post Office, allegedly took two sealed envelopes, that were placed in the United States Postal Service’s custody, out of the outgoing mail bin. Each envelope contained a greeting card and gifts for the intended recipients. Jamison-Lewis allegedly opened each envelope and removed their contents. One envelope held a T.J. Maxx gift card and the other contained three New York State Lottery scratch-off tickets.
The envelope containing the T.J. Maxx gift card had been mailed by an investigator from the District Attorney’s Office working in an undercover capacity. Jamison-Lewis then allegedly placed both empty greeting cards back into the envelopes and returned them to the outgoing mail. The following day, video surveillance allegedly captured Jamison-Lewis using the stolen T.J. Maxx gift card at the T.J. Maxx store located in Port Jefferson Station. The items she allegedly purchased with the stolen gift card were subsequently recovered at the time of Jamison-Lewis’s arrest.
On November 24, 2025, Jamison-Lewis was arrested by investigators assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, together with agents from the USPS Office of the Inspector General. At the time of her arrest, investigators allegedly found two allegedly stolen pieces of mail hidden in her pants and four more stolen pieces of mail in her pocketbook.
Additionally, investigators executed search warrants at both her residence and vehicle and allegedly recovered 20 additional stolen pieces of mail.
Jamison-Lewis was employed by the USPS since November 2024, but she resigned from her position on December 1, 2025, following her arrest.
On December 12, 2025, Jamison-Lewis was arraigned before Acting County Court Judge Pierce Cohalan the following charges:
- Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony;
- Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony;
- Petit Larceny, a Class A misdemeanor; and
- Official Misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor.
Judge Cohalan ordered Jamison-Lewis released without bail because her charges are considered non-bail eligible under current New York State law, meaning prosecutors cannot ask for, and judges cannot set bail. Jamison-Lewis is due back in court on January 6, 2025, and she is being represented by Robert Curran, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Katharine R. D’Aquila of the Public Corruption Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by investigators assigned to the District Attorney’s Public Corruption Squad together with agents of the United States Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is asking anyone in the Oakdale Postal area who suspects they may be a victim of similar theft to contact the District Attorney’s Office’s Public Corruption Squad at (631) 853-4626.