CLEARFIELD – A DuBois woman accused of stealing money from greeting cards while working at an area post office pleaded guilty during plea and sentencing court in Clearfield County.
Jody Lynne Cavazza, 56, 382 DuBois Rockton Rd., DuBois, pleaded guilty to several counts of theft by unlawful taking in three, separate cases.
She was sentenced to 35 days to one year in jail and two years consecutive probation. She was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. She was fined $1,100 plus costs. It was noted that she has paid her restitution, which totaled more than $840 in full.
Cavazza, who is an employee of the Rockton Post Office, took cash, gift cards, lottery tickets and more from greeting cards going through the post office, according to the affidavit of probable cause. Some of the cards were delivered opened or resealed and others were never delivered at all.
Several victims missing greeting cards and money from greeting cards contacted police after reading about the first charges against Cavazza in a Courier-Express article April 13.
According to the affidavit in the first case, Christopher Sansom contacted the DuBois-based state police on Feb. 21 reporting cards received by his son, which appeared to have been opened. The cards, sent from his grandparents, had contained money. The last card he received for Valentine’s Day was sent with $10 in it, but it had been opened and resealed. When the boy received it, there was no money inside. He estimated there was approximately $100 missing in the last six months.
Sansom then mailed his son a card with $5 bill and a $10 Wal-Mart gift card inside it. When the family got the card, there was no cash or gift card in it. He provided police with the account number on the gift card. Police then contacted the DuBois Wal-Mart. They confirmed the gift card had been used toward a $63.75 purchase with the remainder being paid by a credit card.
The loss prevention officer was able to give police photos and surveillance video showing Cavazza completing the transaction. It was also confirmed the credit card that completed the sale had Cavazza’s name on it.
On March 27, investigators worked with the DuBois Postmaster who arranged for an orange greeting card with $30 in cash inside to be mailed through the Rockton Post Office. It was determined by surveillance that the card had been opened and the money removed.
When an investigator approached Cavazza at the office asking for it, she said she did not know where it was at. After she was assured the orange envelope was in that post office, she pulled it out from underneath a couple sheets of paper. It had been opened along the top. When asked where the money was, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a $10 and a $20 bill.
Cavazza claimed it was only her second or third time to open cards and she only obtained $20 to $25 from them. She denied taking any gift cards.
The investigator advised her that her story did not coincide with what the investigation had uncovered. Then she admitted she started opening mail about a year ago when her hours were cut. She said it was a “spur of the moment” type thing and she generally resealed the envelopes with tape or a glue stick.
From April 13 through April 28, police received several additional complaints of missing money after the story of Cavazza’s charges ran in the paper, which resulted in additional theft charges being filed against her. Some of the victims stated that they contacted the post office when they realized cards had never been received. They were either told to wait, or were given excuses as to where the mail pieces had gone, according to the criminal complaints.
