Repo Leads To Fed. Charges For Postal Inspector

A former U.S. Postal Service supervisor admitted on Monday to stealing 89 from the mail.

Benita D. Randle, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of mail by a U.S. Postal Service employee.

John W. Harrison, 26, of Black Jack, pleaded guilty in February to one count of possession of stolen mail matter.

Prosecutors said Randle was a supervisor at the St. Louis Processing and Distribution Center, which processes, sorts and distributes all non-parcel mail for the St. Louis Metropolitan areas.

Randle had access to all the center’s mail. Between September and October 2023, she stole checks and gave the mail to Harrison.

After receiving the mail, Harrison would open it and remove the checks.

According to prosecutors, Randle’s crime was uncovered when her car was repossessed for not maintaining insurance.

The dealership found an AR-style gun, cocaine, fentanyl and loose checks.

St. Charles Police Department was called; Randle arrived at the dealership at the same time officers did.

She claimed she did not handle mail at her job.

She later lied to investigators with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, claiming she never drove the car or handled mail.

Investigators determined Randle stole 89 checks from the mail. A counterfeit check that had the same bank account and payor information as one of the stolen checks was also found.

The total value of the checks was $369,248.

Randle is set to be sentenced on Aug. 20 and Harrison on June 3.