Postal employee pleads guilty to stealing gift cards, cash from mail
Neighbor's tip led to discovery of 141 gift cards, USPS master keys
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Sign up freeA U.S. Postal Service employee from Olathe pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing mail and now faces federal sentencing, capping an investigation sparked by a neighbor who spotted him throwing away brightly colored greeting card envelopes, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Kansas.
David Alan Boutte, 60, who worked at the Blue Valley Post Office in Overland Park, pleaded guilty to one count of theft or receipt of stolen mail. When federal investigators and local police searched Boutte's home and workplace in March, they found 141 gift cards, $1,624 in cash and about 1,700 postage stamps on rolls and sheets, according to court documents. Officers also recovered stolen letters addressed to other people and two postal keys, including a master "arrow" key used to open outdoor collection boxes and apartment mailbox panels.
The case against Boutte began in January after a witness noticed him dumping the greeting card-style envelopes into a trash bin outside his home. The neighbor checked the trash and discovered four opened, postmarked letters that did not belong to Boutte. Following the tip, agents from the USPS Office of Inspector General and the Olathe Police Department collected trash from Boutte’s curb twice in February, finding additional opened and stamped letters addressed to other postal customers.
Boutte is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 15, 2027.
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