Former USPS worker sentenced for theft in Arizona

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - A former U.S. Postal Service employee in southern Arizona has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for forging nearly $18,000 in stolen money orders.

Prosecutors say 49-year-old Anna Cecilia Miranda must pay more than $25,000 in restitution and be on supervised release for three years after prison.

Miranda, of Douglas, pleaded guilty in the case in May.

She was accused of going through outgoing mail and stealing numerous postal money orders from Pirtleville Post Office customers during an eight-month span ending in October 2009.

Pirtleville is a small town near Douglas.

Authorities say the money orders included ones intended for home loan and mortgage payments and ranged in value from $335 to $800.

Miranda was accused of forging and altering those money orders so she could cash them.