Grand Jury Indicts Reseda Postmaster in Theft of $6,585

The Reseda postmaster was charged Friday with stealing $6,585 in Postal Service funds, the U. S. attorney’s office announced.

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles returned an indictment charging Joseph Bilotta, 45, with three counts of stealing government property, according to a statement issued by U. S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner.

The thefts allegedly occurred from Nov. 13 to April 8. The statement did not say how the funds were taken, but sources connected to the Reseda post office had said that stamp vending machines were short of money.

A postal 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.

Bilotta, a 14-year Postal Service employee, has served as chief of the Reseda Boulevard office since 1978. He was placed on administrative leave after the investigation began last month.

Edward Lay, supervisor of postal operations in Thousand Oaks, has been assigned to head the Reseda Post Office pending resolution of the case.

Bilotta is scheduled for arraignment May 18 before U. S. Magistrate Volney V. Brown. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $250,000 on each count.