Former postal worker sentenced

LEWISTON  — A postal worker at a local branch who pleaded guilty to misappropriating postal funds was sentenced Monday to one month in federal prison.

Jason Thompson, 32, of Richmond, was also sentenced to a year of supervised release, according to a written release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland.

U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal sentenced Thompson in federal court in Portland for misappropriating less than $1,000 worth of postal funds.

Court documents showed Thompson used his position as a postal clerk at the main post office and postal annex in Lewiston between August 2006 and February 2008, Assistant U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank said.

Thompson had worked for a number of years for the U.S. Postal Service, Frank said.

Thompson sold stamps to customers, recorded the transactions as "No Sale" and pocketed the proceeds, the written release said.

His theft was detected when his managers spotted shortages in their periodic counts of stamp stock. They referred the matter for investigation to the Office of the Inspector General, the release said.

Thompson is no longer employed by the U.S. Postal Service, Frank said.

U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby praised the work of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General for its work investigating the case, the release said.