Reseda Postmaster Suspended After $7,000 Is Missed

Postal authorities Monday named the Reseda postmaster as a suspect in a $7,000 embezzlement and have suspended him while the U.S. attorney’s office determines whether charges will be filed.

Joseph Bilotta, a 14-year Postal Service employee, was suspended after an investigation that began a month ago, said Postal Inspector Jim Griffin.

He said Bilotta was not arrested but was put on paid administrative leave Friday afternoon.

Bilotta, chief of the 102-employee facility on Reseda Boulevard since 1978, could not be reached for comment.

Because no charge had been filed, postal officials declined to discuss results of the investigation.

However, other sources connected to the Reseda Post Office said the alleged embezzlement may have involved the pilfering of cash from stamp-vending machines.

A postal worker responsible for servicing the machines apparently noticed that they did not contain enough money for the number of stamps sold, and postal inspectors were notified, the sources said.

Edward Lay, supervisor of postal operations in Thousand Oaks, has been assigned to head the Reseda Post Office until a decision is reached in Bilotta’s case, said Postal Service spokesman John Conte.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office said it was not known when a decision would be made whether to bring charges.