Ex-mail carrier pleads guilty to charges he delivered heroin in Hawaii

(Reuters) - A former U.S. Postal Service employee in Hawaii has pleaded guilty to charges he distributed heroin in the mail in exchange for receiving some of the drug for himself, court records showed.

Michael Trento entered the plea on Thursday in federal court before Chief Judge Susan Mollway in Honolulu, and he was allowed to remain free on bail until he is sentenced on Nov. 9, according to minutes from the court proceedings.

He pleaded guilty to charges he conspired to distribute and possess about one kilogram (two pounds) of heroin and receive one gram (.04 ounces) of heroin in return for delivering the drug in the mail.

Trento faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced, said Elliot Enoki, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Hawaii.

Three other men were charged as part of the scheme. They are accused of using Trento as a go-between for drug delivery.

The other defendants are set for trial on Sept. 29, Enoki said. He declined to release more details on the relationship between Trento and the other men.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that Trento was based in Maui.

"They asked me to do a favor because I was a mailman. We were all friends from before," Trento told the judge in his case, according to the newspaper.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Mohammad Zargham)