NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A New York letter carrier has been charged with stealing greeting cards to collect the cash sent with them.
Michael Olivio, who had a route in the Bath Beach neighborhood in Brooklyn, was arrested this week, the New York Daily News reported. Postal police set up a sting operation after receiving complaints about undelivered cards.
The investigation included the mailing of test cards to people who had complained. When one of them was not delivered, Olivio was identified as the letter carrier on that route.
Postal inspectors then sent a letter that included an electronic transmitter, using a fake address. They found the letter in Olivio's glove compartment.
Olivio reportedly admitted stealing cards, saying he began doing it around Valentine's Day and was more active during periods before major holidays.
Lucy DeRosa, who said she complained after her granddaughters did not receive cards she sent, told the newspaper she had been thinking of giving Olivio a Christmas present.
"But this bum? Forget about it," she said.
