Sharon Andrews used to be the Postmaster in Emmonak. Between 2010 and 2012 she stole several registered mail packages that each contained large amounts of cash inside.
In May of 2010, she took three packages that contained $44,000. In September that year, she took another package that included $25,000, and in October of 2012, she took five additional packages, which contained $93,100 inside.
All of the packages were supposed to be forwarded on to the AC Store in the nearby village of Kotlik.
Andrews, 54, pled guilty to four felony charges that she stole mail as an officer or employee of the U.S. Postal Service. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline sentenced her to four months in prison and three years of supervised release.
She also has to pay most of the money back—$164,700 dollars. She had already paid back the difference, from some of the stolen money that she had kept.
She told the court that she burned most of the money out of anger from people in the village using it on drugs and alcohol. She admitted to spending a little of it on a used car and other items.
Registered mail is tracked and insured. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder says while it wasn’t obvious who had stolen the money there were receipts showing a limited number of people who would have handled the mail.
