The Brief A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to probation for a money laundering scheme that involved stealing checks out of the mail. Mario Casey, 29, was originally charged with five felonies, but pleaded guilty to two. The other charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal. Prosecutors said Casey used a mail key to open a mailbox outside of Wauwatosa City Hall.



A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to probation for a money laundering scheme that involved stealing checks out of the mail.

Milwaukee man sentenced

In Court:

Mario Casey, 29, was originally charged with five felonies. Court records show he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and forgery, and the other three charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

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Milwaukee County Judge Jay Pucek initially sentenced Casey to prison time for forgery, but stayed that sentence and instead gave him three years' probation. Casey was sentenced to time served in the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center for money laundering.

Mario Casey

The backstory:

Wauwatosa's city assessor reported that several pieces of mail containing checks had been stolen from a U.S. Postal Service mailbox outside City Hall.

The suspect's car - a red Chrysler - was seen near the mailbox on nine different occasions, eight of which happened in March, between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., according to a criminal complaint. One person would get out of the driver's door, sometimes joined by a passenger. They'd go over to the mailbox, use a mail key to open it, and remove the mail. Police determined more than $100,000 was stolen.

Wauwatosa police set up an operation to arrest the suspect on April 4. The red Chrysler pulled into the City Hall parking lot and stopped at the mailbox shortly after 3 a.m. Mario Casey was alone in the car and was arrested. An officer found the mailbox key in his jacket pocket.

Suspect seen at Wauwatosa City Hall mailbox (Courtesy: MCDAO)

Initial interview

What they're saying:

A detective interviewed Casey, and court filings sai
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