Postal employee who stole gift cards from mail in Kansas sentenced to probation

A U.S. Postal Service employee who ran a Kansas town’s post office and stole gift cards from the mail has avoided prison time and a fine.

Stacy A. Vasko was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation, 40 hours of community service and $200 in restitution. The sentence comes after she pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Topeka to a misdemeanor count of obstructing mail.

Vasko had initially been charged with two counts of mail theft by a postal employee. At the time she was indicted last summer, she was 31 years old and living in Salina.

Vasko had been a postal support employee in the Brookville post office since 2017, according to court documents. She was the only employee to work in the small facility, which was open just four hours a day.

In February 2019, a greeting card with a $200 Visa card was mailed from Wisconsin to Brookville, court documents state. When the envelope arrived at its destination, it had been opened and taped shut. The gift card was missing.

A USPS investigator discovered that the gift card had been used at Walmart in Salina. The agent identified Vasko as the person using the stolen gift card.

The investigator in April 2019 sent a test mailing that had a $55 Visa card and a $25 Walmart gift card. Days later, Vasko was identified using the Walmart gift card in Salina, she admitted in her plea deal.

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 7:07 PM.