A former worker at the U.S. Postal Service’s Baltimore distibution center admitted in federal court that he regularly rifled through greeting cards, stealing cash and gift cards and discarding the rest.
Andrew C. Walsh, 51, of Cockeysville, Md. pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Baltimore to mail theft. Authorities said he stole about 1,600 gift cards worth between $30,000 and $70,000, and about $12,000 in cash.
Walsh, who worked as a maintenance mechanic, didn’t process mail but had access to areas where it was kept. From August 2009 to April 2010, court papers say, he began plucking mail off a conveyor belt in an isolated area, opening the envelopes and stealing valuables inside. He took about 10 gift cards and $75 in cash each shift.