Postal worker accused of theft

McALLEN — A U.S. Postal Service contract employee faces federal charges of stealing several gift certificates sent in greeting cards.

Agents arrested Manuel Saldivar, 37, of La Feria, after a four-month investigation into reports of missing mail along a route spanning from La Feria to McAllen, according to court documents obtained Monday.

Inspectors with the USPS mailed out three batches of dummy gift cards to stores such as Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy between March 3 and April 16.

Three of those cards never reached their intended address but were later spent at stores in Harlingen, Weslaco and Alamo. Using surveillance video from the locations, inspectors traced the purchases back to Saldivar.

After his arrest Thursday, Saldivar confessed to stealing the fake gift cards and several others since December 2008 as he picked up mail along his route, according to a criminal complaint filed in his case. Investigators also found several stolen pieces of mail including some of the dummy cards in his vehicle, the document states.

It was not immediately clear Monday whether Saldivar had retained an attorney.

If convicted on charges of mail theft, he could face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.