LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - A Lowell mail carrier accused of trying to bribe on of his supervisors and sell them cocaine is now facing federal charges.
Cell phone video shared by another postal carrier allegedly shows 61-year-old John Noviello of Nashua being arrested on bribery and cocaine charges. That colleague who took the video spoke with 7NEWS about the shocking arrest on the condition of remaining anonymous.
“I walked back inside from my break and he was in handcuffs,” they said. “You like him cause he’s your coworker but at the same time he’s doing something wrong.”
According to the criminal complaint, Noviello allegedly asked a USPS supervisor to intercept packages from Puerto Rico containing “kilos” and offered to pay that supervisor about $1,800 per kilo.
Noviello said he had done this for about 15 years with another supervisor and it paid for his second home.
The supervisor then contacted authorities and an investigation began.
According to prosecutors, Noviello allegedly put $850 in a Dunkin’ bag in the supervisor’s vehicle, which they say was supposed to be a bribe to convince him to go along with the scheme. The documents reveal that at one point, the supervisor asks Noviello what to tell customers looking for their missing packages to which he responds, “If somebody calls you, say they’re missing paperwork.”
Last month, investigators had the supervisor take part in controlled cocaine buy from Noviello and on May 12 he was arrested.
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