Ex-Supervisor in House Post Office Facing Conspiracy Charges

A former House Post Office supervisor was charged Friday with cocaine possession and conspiring to cover up embezzlement at the post office.

A two-count criminal information charged Dorothea Niki Risenhoover, 33, of Alexandria, Va., with possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy to conceal a material fact.

A criminal information means a defendant has waived her right to have the case presented to a federal grand jury and that the defendant is expected to plead guilty. Her attorney was not available for comment, said an aide in his office.

Risenhoover was accused of conspiring to cover up missing stamps and money from the stamp drawer of post office clerk Wendell Magruder. Magruder was charged last week with selling crack cocaine, cocaine and marijuana to fellow post office employees.

Prosecutors said the conspiracy lasted from about December, 1988, to July, 1991, and involved other unidentified co-conspirators.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while the cocaine-possession count carries a maximum one year imprisonment and a $100,000 fine.

A spokesman for U.S. Atty. Jay B. Stephens said no court date had been set.

Risenhoover is the daughter of former Rep. Theodore M. Risenhoover (D-Okla.), who served in Congress from 1975 to 1979.

She was the first supervisor to be charged in the post office investigation. She left her job as chief clerk in charge of the office earlier this year following news reports about alleged embezzlement and drug dealing at the post office.

Prosecutors said Risenhoover provided Magruder with stamps to conceal his alleged embezzlement and that in exchange, Magruder agreed not to reveal that she had been using marijuana and cocaine that he had supplied.

Magruder has pleaded innocent to charges of embezzling $13,997 in cash and stamps at the post office. He faces a June 17 trial on charges of embezzlement and cocaine distribution.

Three other former House Post Office employees have pleaded guilty to embezzlement, and Stephens’ office said Friday the investigation was continuing.

House members voted last week to overhaul their chamber’s management structure, including the post office. Former House Postmaster Robert V. Rota resigned under pressure March 19.