Mail Contractor With Access to Rochester Post Office Accused of Stealing from Local Fundraiser
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man with access to the loading dock of the main post office in Rochester has been charged in a mail theft case.
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That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court earlier this week. The court document indicates the suspect was a mail contractor.
He’s accused of stealing gift cards that were sent through the mail as part of a local fundraiser.
Mail Contractor Accused of Stealing Gift Cards for Choir Group Fundraiser from Rochester Post Office
36-year-old Cody Pfingsten is charged with felony mail theft and gross misdemeanor theft.
The charges say the treasurer for a home school choir group that sells Kwik Trip gift cards for fundraising reported $700 worth of gift cards were stolen out of the mail this past April.
Rochester police learned three of the four missing gift cards had been used at Olmsted County Kwik Trip stores, the complaint says.
Officers reviewed footage of the transactions and identified Pfigsten as the card user, according to the complaint.
Pfigsten, who said he works for a company that delivers bulk mail, admitted to using the cards but said he found them in the recycling at his Rochester apartment, the charges say.
Investigators then learned through the Postal Inspector’s Office that Pfigsten’s job duties gave him access to mail from Pine Island, where the gift cards were mailed from, the court document says.
In a second interview with investigators, Pfingsten admitted to taking the envelope, the complaint says.
Pfingsten is being charged via summons. He’s due to make his first appearance in the case next year.
The court document does not say which company Pfingsten was working for at the time of the alleged theft.
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