March 28, 2013
MINNEAPOLIS—A federal indictment unsealed late yesterday charges a former employee of the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) with embezzling approximately $10,365.57 from the Brooklyn Park Post Office. The indictment, which was filed on March 12, 2013, charges Kathleen M. Warner, age 52, of Otsego, with one count of misappropriation of postal funds. The indictment was unsealed following Warner’s initial appearance in federal court.
The indictment alleges that from approximately February 2010 through August 2012, Warner embezzled funds from her cash drawer and removed stamps and other merchandise without paying for them.
If convicted, Warner faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the USPS-Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda M. Sertich.
An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.
You are right Bill…unless you are management. They can steal and then try to blame other people. The upper managemnt will protect them at all cost, even though they have all the proof that the manager was the theif. If a clerk were to steal that kind of money, there is no way that the manager wouldn’t know something was up. To top it off, in the above case, the manager to blame had been moved to many locations to protect him after being accused many times of sexual harrassment. When he was gone, the loss went away. The day after the accused was walked out of the station, the manager was moved to the postmaster’s office for a “detail”. Then when it was time fro the accused to go to court, the manager was moved from Minnesota to Texas, again to protect him. He had even went to someone’s house that had called in ill to try to prove that they were not ill. He walked right into the person’s home uninvited. He later lied and denied it, but the carrier’s adult son was ho
e and witnessed it. The manager was not allowed to have contact with the employee after that. But when this other case came up the Post Master would only take the word ot the manager because he was an “honest” person. The accused had work at the post off ice 25 years, with 6 of those being on the window, with never a problem. All at once when this manager comes into play, it is the clerk that he accuses and the Post Master chooses to side, once again, with this manager..Zero tolerance ?? Bull crap. And there is also a pattern of them accusing people that have FMLA for a mental health condition, in this case, depression and stress. I guess they want to pick their easiest target. They had a hit list of other people to accuse if this first case did not work out. The head clerk was told that she was next to be accused. All they would have to do is look at the records that the manger din’t complete, talk to all of the clerks in the building to see how this manager would not let anyone else help count the stamps as they were supposed to. His comment was “It is what it is, some day they will come and take me away in handcuffs because someone is stealing”. But he was able to blame someone else and save his own butt because he is an “homnesty” person. This same manager has a very bad gambling addiction that also could easily been proved that he spent way more than he should have been able to afford, and bragged about it. So yeah….the PO will know that some one was stealing, but if you are the right person, the upper managment will cover for you at all costs, not caring who else’s life they have distroyed.
Man! If you think there are too many checks and balances within the postal svc. then you are truly a fool. Many in my station told mgmt. about stealing for many years but mgmt. being buddies with the chosen few turned their heads the other way. Also, every time an employee takes a longer than normal break, comes in late and doesn’t fill out the appropriate forms, stays at breaks too long, they are stealing and those aren’t even the biggies that have been noticed by true employees who know better than that stupid statement. There aren’t enough checks and balances in my opinion…and that’s all it is, is my opinion.
I don’t get this. I have been a PO employee for 26 years. YOU CANNOT STEAL THE PO’s money. There are too many checks and balances. Idiots.