Ex-Postal Boss LaFlamme Pleads Guilty to Bribery, Witness Tampering

Bribery, lies, and a desperate attempt to silence a witness — the dirty playbook of former U.S. Postal Service manager Kenneth LaFlamme, 54, of Fort Myers, Fla., came crashing down in a Springfield federal courtroom. Today, LaFlamme pleaded guilty to one count each of bribery, witness tampering, and making false statements to federal officials, admitting his role in a years-long corruption scheme that turned the USPS into his personal cash machine.

From 2015 to 2018, while serving as Manager of the USPS’ Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Springfield, LaFlamme ran a pay-to-play racket, soliciting and pocketing weekly bribes from two towing contractors in exchange for steering lucrative government towing contracts their way. The arrangement funneled valuable federal business to favored companies — not based on merit, but on who was slipping cash into LaFlamme’s pocket.

But when federal investigators began closing in — serving subpoenas on the contractors in April 2018 — LaFlamme didn’t back down. He doubled down. He reached out to one of the contractors and tried to manipulate their testimony before a grand jury, urging them to lie and cover up the bribes. It was a brazen move, one that prosecutors say crosses a dangerous line: attacking the justice system itself.

When agents later questioned him, LaFlamme lied — repeatedly — denying any payments and feigning ignorance about the contractors’ relationship with him. Those lies only piled onto his crimes, adding the charge of making false statements to federal officials, a felony that carries up to five years in prison.

“If committing the underlying offense of bribery wasn’t bad enough, the defendant’s attempt to interfere with a witness in order to influence grand jury testimony in his favor is particularly egregious,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. “We will prosecute people who intentionally interfere with the criminal justice system.”

LaFlamme now faces a maximum of 15 years for bribery, 20 years for witness tampering, and five years for false statements. U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Sept. 5, 2019. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow and investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the FBI. As federal officials made clear: no badge, no title, no government office is a shield against accountability.