TROY, Ala (WDHN) — A 41-year-old man from Pasadena, Texas, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to stealing mail and cashing illegal checks in Troy.

On August 8, John Eugene Dibello was sentenced to 43 months in federal prison on conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud and the separate charge of aggravated identity theft.

According to the US Department of Justice, in late 2021, Dibello and 30-year-old Taelor Amie Owens from Houston, Texas, came to Alabama so Owens could visit family, and during the trip, the two broke into several mailboxes and stole mail that included checks and identity information.

Attorneys say Dibello and Owens cashed the stolen checks and took the proceeds.

When investigators discovered they were staying in a Pike County Hotel, they searched their room and found more stolen mail from Texas, a post office arrow key (a universal key used to access collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, cluster box units, and apartment panels), and at least two fake identities, according to the USDOJ.

Along with the 43 months in prison, a federal judge ordered Dibello to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

On May 25, 2023, Owens pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy and aggravated identity theft offenses.

Owens’s sentencing is scheduled for September 28, 2023. She could face a maximum of thirty years in federal prison.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Troy Police Department.