Former postal carrier admits to taking gift card from Granite City mailbox, feds say
A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier has pleaded guilty to stealing a $200 Visa gift card from a mailbox in Granite City and using the gift card for personal purchases last year.
Phillip E. Tucker, 37, of Madison pleaded guilty in federal court in East St. Louis to one count of theft of mail by a postal employee, according to a news release on Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors have agreed to recommend Tucker receive a sentence of one year on probation, according to court records filed Aug. 29. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Tucker has agreed to pay $200 in restitution and he admitted that he stole the gift card on May 6, 2023. Tucker resigned from his job at the postal service after the theft was discovered, according to court records.
Records show Tucker used the gift card between May 6, 2023, and May 16, 2023. He was employed by the postal service from October 2017 to July 2023.
As part of his guilty plea agreement, Tucker agreed that he “will not seek re-instatement with the United States Postal Service, nor will he apply for employment with any other federal agency.”
Tucker is being represented by St. Louis attorney Jen Kusmer, who said Tucker is “very remorseful” for what happened and that he is taking full responsibility for the theft.
“Mail carriers are entrusted public servants, and postal workers who steal from collection boxes willingly break that trust,” U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe said in the news release. “I commend the investigators for holding this defendant accountable.”
The U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Howard is prosecuting the case.
Persons found guilty of theft of mail by postal employee can be sentenced to serve up to five years in prison, the news release stated.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 11:26 AM.
