Former Oakdale Post Office clerk indicted for stealing lottery tickets, gift cards, Suffolk DA says

A former clerk at the post office in Oakdale has been indicted for allegedly stealing lottery tickets and gift cards from the mail stream, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

So far, the office has identified seven alleged victims of the former clerk, Jovanni Jamison-Lewis, 36, of Mastic Beach, the office wrote in a news release. Jamison-Lewis was arrested last November, resigned the next month and was arraigned Wednesday on a resulting indictment. Charges include grand larceny and possession of stolen property.

Nationwide, mail theft has been on the rise, according to a recent report by the U.S. Postal Service's Office of Inspector General. While most of the theft is by those who aren't employed by the Postal Service, "recently there has been a growing threat" of thefts by postal workers, according to the office, which has made combatting that threat "a big focus." 

Over a recent five-year period, nearly 9,300 people were arrested for mail theft, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

In the Oakdale case, the allegations began with two alleged thefts.

In the first, on Nov. 19, Jamison-Lewis allegedly took two sealed envelopes from a bin containing outgoing mail, opened each envelope "and removed their contents": one had a greeting card and.a TJ Maxx gift card valued at $175; the second envelope had a greeting card and three New York lottery scratch-off tickets.

"Jamison-Lewis allegedly opened each envelope, removed the gift card and scratch-off tickets and placed the empty greeting cards back inside. The envelopes were then returned to the outgoing mail bin," the release said.

The next day, the release said, she was caught on surveillance video at the TJ Maxx in Port Jefferson Station using the cards to buy jewelry, a handbag, clothing and reusable shopping bags.

Then, on Nov. 24, she was arrested. In her pocketbook were four pieces of stolen mail; the items she bought with the gift card were also recovered. 

No working phone numbers for Jamison-Lewis could be found. She was released pending the next hearing in the case. Robert Macedonio, the lawyer who once represented her but who does no longer, declined to comment. Jamison-Lewis is now represented by the Legal Aid Society, which does not comment on its cases. 

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.