Former New Zealand Post team leader Stephen James Francis Cadigan used to complain about mail thefts while he was stealing thousands of letters himself.
The hypocrisy counted against him at his sentencing today where Judge Stephen Erber jailed him for 11 months.
Fifty-year-old Cadigan's eyesight has failed and he is now legally blind. He had to be guided to the dock in Christchurch District Court by a prison officer for the sentencing.
He had pleaded guilty in June to charges of theft of the postal articles by a person in a special relationship, and two charges of dishonestly using documents -- two grocery vouchers he had stolen from an envelope.
Judge Erber said he did not believe a home detention sentence was appropriate because of the scale of the offending, its impact on so many people, the breach of trust, and the impact on the reputation of the employer, New Zealand Post.
Cadigan was team leader at the Beckenham branch -- at the end of his 35 years of employment with NZ Post.
He has admitted his thefts began five or six years ago, but the charge refers to the period from January 1 to May 15 this year when he says he was stealing 20 to 30 items a day.
He would arrive before the other staff, help unload the mail, and then sort out items to steal. He would open the mail in the men's toilet, taking cash, vouchers, and Lotto tickets, and 559 of the stolen mail items were later found hidden behind a water-heating cylinder. Those items covered only part of the period.
Judge Erber calculated Cadigan would have taken 2000 to 3000 items over those months.
Defence counsel Carol Morgan said Cadigan had found further work as a labourer, working a graveyard shift. Transport to work was provided by the New Zealand Foundation for the Blind because it was outside bus hours.
He was keen to pay reparation and she handed up a $500 cheque from his savings.
She said he was very remorseful and wanted to make amends to NZ Post and the community as best he could.
Crown prosecutor Sara Jamieson said NZ Post was seeking $4842 reparation for the cost of the investigation, and another $170 was sought for a direct victim.
She said the Beckenham branch had been held up as a model, and senior management visiting Christchurch were often taken to see it. Cadigan was regularly given information about missing mail, and was vocal about how upset customers were when they approached him about lost items.
"We will never know how much he actually obtained from this offending," she said.
Judge Erber said NZ Post had been particularly upset by Cadigan's hypocrisy in condemning people who stole mail while he was stealing items himself.
Many people had been upset because birthday greetings or sympathy cards had not been delivered.
"Your actions have considerably upset your former workmates. They feel very let down by what you have done."
Judge Erber jailed him for 11 months and ordered that he pay reparations totalling $5012 at $10 a week, once he is released from jail.
