Greenwich postal worker charged with stealing money orders

STAMFORD -- A 22-year-old Greenwich postal worker, who is a person of interest in the theft of more than $300,000 in postal money orders from the Old Greenwich post office, was arraigned Friday on forgery and larceny charges.

Within two hours of being arraigned at state Superior Court in Stamford, Keiyana Lawhorne posted $250,000 bond and was released.

Lawhorne, 22, of Miranda Lane in Stratford, was charged by Greenwich police Thursday with conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to commit fourth-degree larceny.

Judge Alex Hernandez said at Lawhorne's arraignment that "in excess of $300,000" in postal money orders had been fraudulently cashed, and that the evidence against Lawhorne indicated she has been engaged in a pattern of cashing them.

A bond amount of $50,000 was requested for Lawhorne on the basis she has no criminal record and would not be a flight risk.

But Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Steven Weiss said additional charges against Lawhorne would be coming and asked that she be held in lieu of the higher amount set by Hernandez.

The judge said the state's case against Lawhorne was "pretty substantial," with videotape showing her cashing money orders while alone in her window at the post office on Arcadia Lane.

Lawhorne has only been charged with allegedly stealing and cashing six money orders worth $4,465. She did not enter a plea Friday and is scheduled to return to court March 17.

Greenwich police were contacted Wednesday by a special agent in the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, according to Lawhorne's five-page arrest affidavit.

The agent asked for help investigating the loss of 311 postal money orders that, to date, had been cashed for $310,370.

Police determined that 26 of the 311 stolen money orders had been cashed at the post office, all by Lawhorne.

None had a receipt for their sale, nor was money collected when the orders were issued.

A covert video surveillance camera placed in the post office lobby March 1 caught Lawhorne conducting several transactions while no one was at her window March 2 and 3.

The video showed that after the transactions were complete, Lawhorne ripped up and discarded the receipts.

Greenwich Police Detective Mark Solomon said he believes Lawhorne was involved with stealing and cashing in more money orders than outlined in the current charges.

He said her "criminal involvement extends beyond the criminal actions involved on March 2 and March 3" and the thefts remained under investigation by local and federal authorities.

jnickerson@scni.com; stamfordadvocate.com/policereports