A baggage handler at San Diego's Lindbergh Field was sentenced Monday for stealing cash and gift cards from mail shipped in the area.
Ben Anitok, 59, was sentenced to time served, with four months in a halfway house, followed by five months of home monitoring for mail theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Anitok, a former employee of Delta Ground Services (DGS), admitted to opening mail that appeared to be greeting cards and stealing cash and gift cards. He also admitted that he received stolen gift cards from other employees.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, an investigation was launched after cleaning crews reported finding multiple envelopes of opened greeting cards in bathrooms inside the airport.
Police were able to verify to whom the mail belonged to and discovered the gift cards had been used without authorization.
Anitok is the fourth former DGS employee to be convicted since December 2016.
DGS contract with the U.S. Postal Service to transport mail through Lindbergh Field.
