Mario R. Casey had a large silver key. The key unlocked the mailbox outside City Hall.
The key was found in the pocket of Casey's jacket by police who were investigating a series of mail thefts, and about 30 pieces of mail were recovered from inside his car during a sting operation this month in the City Hall parking lot.
When first questioned by Wauwatosa police after his April 4 arrest, Casey told a detective he had found the key at Mayfair Mall, according to the criminal complaint charging the 29-year-old Milwaukee man with five felonies. When pressed for the truth, he changed his story, saying he obtained the mailbox key “from a dude that he knew through Facebook.”
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Casey now faces a potential maximum sentence of 43 years in prison if convicted of all five felony conspiracy charges alleging money laundering, forgery, theft, mail theft and identity theft. He is accused of helping to steal at least $100,000 in a scheme that netted an estimated 800 items in stolen mail, including checks from the envelopes that were later cashed fraudulently.
The defendant told police that he didn't cash the checks himself and only pocketed payments for his services from another person identified as Oxy.