Postal workers indicted for throwing away mail, stealing $5,000

One U.S. postal worker allegedly threw away thousands of pieces of mail instead of delivering them. Another postal worker allegedly stole more than $5,000 from a cash drawer.

A federal grand jury indicted both men Thursday in Kansas City.

David Thompson, 54, of Warrensburg, Mo., is charged with the delay and destruction of mail by a postal employee. The longtime carrier allegedly stole at least 20,000 pieces of mail addressed to 5,571 recipients, federal authorities said.

Thompson allegedly kept the mail at his house, stored it in his personal vehicle or threw it into a trash bin at the Elks Lodge in Warrensburg where he serves as the Exalted Ruler.

Supervisors suspected in late 2013 that Thompson was drinking on the job, so they had the Postal Service Office of Inspector General install a hidden camera in his delivery vehicle. The camera recorded Thompson drinking five to eight beers daily. He allegedly hid the beers in his mail satchel and poured them into a cup he kept in his cup holder.

The video also revealed that Thompson did not deliver all of his mail.

Investigators found four black plastic trash bags filled with more than 500 pieces of mail at the Elks Lodge. Postmarks indicated that the items should have been delivered the week of Jan. 11, 2014, according to the indictment.

Authorities said Thompson threw away additional mail to complete his route on time. Discarding it allowed Thompson to have smaller, easier-to-handle bundles, federal prosecutors allege.

In a separate indictment, a North Kansas City postal worker was charged with misappropriation of federal postal funds.

Jacob Crisp, 24, was a front counter worker in North Kansas City. From June 3, 2013, to Feb. 11, 2014, Crisp allegedly stole the money by voiding retail sales and replacing them with no-sale transactions.

Video recordings showed Crisp selling post office products but hitting the “void” key so the sale wasn’t recorded in the computer system. The video also revealed Crisp allegedly taking money from the cash drawer and putting it in his pocket, according to federal authorities.

This story was originally published March 26, 2015 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Postal workers indicted for throwing away mail, stealing $5,000."