EAST ST. LOUIS – Phillip E. Tucker, a 37-year-old mail carrier from Madison, pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing a Visa gift card from a collection box in Granite City.
Tucker, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, admitted to the theft which occurred on May 6, 2023. The guilty plea was entered for one count of theft of mail by a postal employee, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
“Mail carriers are entrusted public servants, and postal workers who steal from collection boxes willingly break that trust. I commend the investigators for holding this defendant accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe in a statement.
Court documents revealed that Tucker used the stolen gift card on several occasions for personal purchases.
The investigation was led by the USPS Office of the Inspector General, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Howard.
Tucker is scheduled for sentencing at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
