A U.S. Postal Service employee in Johnson County has pleaded guilty to stealing mail.
The employee worked at the Blue Valley Post Office, 12433 Antioch Road, in Overland Park.
According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Kansas, the investigation started after the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General received a tip from a witness in January.
The witness reported that 60-year-old David Alan Boutte, of Olathe, was throwing brightly colored envelopes, which the witness believed were for greeting cards, into a trash bin outside his home.
According to the release, the witness looked in Boutte’s trash bin and found four postmarked letters that were opened and not addressed to Boutte’s home.
USPS and Olathe Police investigators collected Boutte’s trash from the curb twice in February.
“Both times, law enforcement found multiple opened, stamped letters not addressed to the residence,” the release said.
A month later, officers executed a search warrant at Boutte’s Olathe home and the Blue Valley Post Office.
The release says that during their searches, officers found $1,624 in cash, 141 gift cards, letters addressed to other people and approximately 1,700 stamps on rolls and sheets.
Boutte pleaded guilty to one count of theft or receipt of stolen mail.
A federal district court judge will sentence him on Jan. 15, 2027.
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