Gulfport, Miss. —
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A former rural letter-carrier has been fined $2,000 for stealing $500 gift cards from the mail.
The Sun Herald (http://bit.ly/PKXqXK ) reports that U.S. District Judge Walter Gex III also ordered 35-year-old Nikki Gardner of Picayune to repay $177.
Gardner pleaded guilty in June to mail theft by a Postal Service employee. A federal indictment accused her of taking 43 gift cards from November 2009 until January of this year while working in Hancock County.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Sheila Wilbanks says the cards were worth a total of $21,500, but prosecutors were unable to identify many victims.
Gardner could have gotten up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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