A suburban Kansas City mail carrier pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing gift cards and checks from postal customers in Independence.
Federal prosecutors say 34-year-old Audrey Odell, of Blue Springs, pleaded guilty Thursday to theft of mail by a postal employee.
Odell admitted she stole about 150 gift cards and 150 checks from routes in Independence, causing an estimated loss of $2,500 from about 75 customers.
After receiving complaints about possible mail theft, postal inspectors placed test pieces with gift cards addressed to fictitious addresses along Odell's route. The mail should have been returned as undeliverable. In February 2017, Odell was arrested after several pieces of mail, including the test mailings, in Odell's vehicle.
No sentencing date has been scheduled.
