James E. Lee Sr., a former U.S. Postal Service procurement official, pleaded guilty Oct. 29 to conspiring to commit bribery and honest-services wire fraud in a scheme involving valuable supply contracts, the Justice Department said.
The effort was intended to direct Postal Service work to four firms or help them retain it. Some contracts were worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the department.
Lee managed expedited packaging supplies and held the contracting officer representative role on several Postal Service agreements covering their manufacture and supply. From about mid-2018 through late 2023, the department said, he and others tried to shape procurement decisions so the firms would receive new awards or keep existing contracts.
Lee examined draft submissions from the firms and passed them confidential pricing and other internal information, the department said. It said he also used his position to shape procurement activity and influence agency officials.
A relative and the relative’s consulting firm helped relay information to the companies and conceal Lee’s role, according to the department. The firms hired the relative as an employee or consultant, with payments totaling nearly $183,000.
The relative and a former manufacturing-company executive are also awaiting sentencing after entering guilty pleas, the department said. Investigators from the Postal Service inspector general’s office and the FBI’s Pittsburgh office are handling the case and related matters. Lee’s sentencing is set for Feb. 25, 2027.
