Lois Elaine Halstead signed a plea deal in December acknowledging responsibility for taking post office cash and keeping it for herself from January 2003 until August 2004, said Assistant U.S. Attorney James Arguelles, who prosecuted Halstead's case.
Arguelles said the plea deal required Halstead to repay the stolen money, and she has already compensated the United States Postal Service fully. Halstead's attorney, Merced lawyer Marc Garcia, said she is actually owed money by the government because she overpaid what she was obliged to return by about $500.
Arguelles said Halstead hoarded cash by selling stamps and not recording receipts over the 20-month period.
Garcia said prosecutors chose to charge Halstead with misappropriation of funds rather than a more serious offense, such as embezzlement, because she complied with their inquiry.
She was charged with misappropriating $610 in August 2004, but in her plea deal, she acknowledges misappropriating the rest of the cash in the preceding months, Arguelles said.
The U.S. attorney said Halstead's scheme was undone by a United States Postal Service audit. Attempts to cover the missing money led to accounting irregularities, Arguelles said.
Garcia said Halstead began funneling away some of the money to help out fellow employees who were down on their luck. Garcia said Halstead immediately acknowledged her wrongdoing when the Postal Service began its investigation.
"What initially started out as her trying to help some people turned into a situation where she ended up trying to pay money back and shift money. That error in judgment led her to this position," Garcia said.
Halstead had to resign from her position because of the misappropriations, Garcia said.
Calls to her home went unanswered.
U.S. Postal Service officials in Sacramento and Los Angeles didn't provide any details on Halstead on Tuesday.
A Postal Service inspector said he did not know whether the investigation that revealed Halstead's misappropriations was routine, or if it was prompted by a tip.
Halstead will be sentenced Thursday by Magistrate Judge Kimberly Mueller at the U.S. Eastern District of California in Sacramento.
Arguelles said he expects Halstead to avoid any jail time. Garcia agreed, saying a probation officer has recommended that sentence. Reporter Adam Ashton can be reached at 385-2484 or aashton@mercedsun-star.com.
