atprm
11-27-2008, 09:00 AM
DETROIT -- The Postal Service says a mail handler stole hundreds of cell phones while working at a processing center.
Agents got a tip in late October from someone who saw Keith Howard sell two dozen phones to a retail store.
Earlier this month, they secretly videotaped him at work as he opened small parcels and put phones in a backpack.
"This is something we rarely, if ever, see," said Breck Nowlin, a senior agent with the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General. "He expressed to us this is how he was making ends meet."
Howard was released on bond last week after appearing in federal court. He is on unpaid leave from his job.
A message seeking comment was left with his lawyer Wednesday.
Agents confronted Howard on Nov. 5 after watching him work the afternoon shift in the small-parcel section at the processing center near downtown. They found 32 phones in his backpack and 100 at his Detroit home.
Howard told agents that he had been stealing phones for four months and selling them to retailers for $5 each, according to a court document.
"Howard stated he was trying to make some extra money to help pay bills, including child support," agent Layne Sill wrote.
Nowlin said Howard had taken approximately 800 phones.
"We're seeing employees experiencing financial problems, but this by no means is an excuse for violating the law or breaking the trust of the Postal Service," Nowlin said in an interview.
He said there were no complaints about phones not being delivered because the Detroit processing center handles mail for such a large area.
"There wasn't a concentrated area suffering from this," Nowlin said.
Agents got a tip in late October from someone who saw Keith Howard sell two dozen phones to a retail store.
Earlier this month, they secretly videotaped him at work as he opened small parcels and put phones in a backpack.
"This is something we rarely, if ever, see," said Breck Nowlin, a senior agent with the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General. "He expressed to us this is how he was making ends meet."
Howard was released on bond last week after appearing in federal court. He is on unpaid leave from his job.
A message seeking comment was left with his lawyer Wednesday.
Agents confronted Howard on Nov. 5 after watching him work the afternoon shift in the small-parcel section at the processing center near downtown. They found 32 phones in his backpack and 100 at his Detroit home.
Howard told agents that he had been stealing phones for four months and selling them to retailers for $5 each, according to a court document.
"Howard stated he was trying to make some extra money to help pay bills, including child support," agent Layne Sill wrote.
Nowlin said Howard had taken approximately 800 phones.
"We're seeing employees experiencing financial problems, but this by no means is an excuse for violating the law or breaking the trust of the Postal Service," Nowlin said in an interview.
He said there were no complaints about phones not being delivered because the Detroit processing center handles mail for such a large area.
"There wasn't a concentrated area suffering from this," Nowlin said.