SALEM — If you have a grandchild, or perhaps a niece or nephew, at Salem State University who never thanked you for that gift you sent last year, it may not be that they've forgotten their manners.
A former Salem State mailroom employee has confessed to stealing mail and packages containing cash, gift cards and even the necklace she was wearing on the day police questioned her, according to court papers.
Deborah Semensi, 23, of 349 Lowell St., Peabody, has pleaded not guilty to larceny charges and is scheduled to stand trial this spring.
The scheme, which went on for a couple of months, came to light in March when one concerned grandmother sent an e-mail to the school's president, Patricia Meservey, about two missing envelopes containing cash that the woman had sent to her granddaughter, according to court papers.
Administrators contacted the campus police, who began an investigation by installing a surveillance camera in the mailroom, where letters and packages for students living on campus are sorted before being sent to the dormitories.
Meanwhile, fellow employees in the mailroom had already become suspicious of Semensi, and one of them set up a sting by placing some envelopes that looked like they contained greeting cards on top of a mail bin, then leaving Semensi alone.
When the other employee returned, the envelopes were gone, and then Semensi took a lengthy break, bringing her purse along.
A "nervous" Semensi initially denied any wrongdoing when confronted by detectives from the campus police. Even when told there was a surveillance camera hidden in the room, she continued denying that she'd ever taken anything.
She agreed to let police search her bag, insisting they'd find only juice and a phone charger.
They did find several bottles of SunnyD and a cord, but they also found a torn corner of an envelope that had been addressed to a student.
Semensi then confessed, police said, admitting she had been taking cards, letters and small packages from the mailroom. She then reached into her jacket and pulled out a "large clump" of opened mail.
She said she would look for envelopes that looked like they had greeting cards in them and go through them, taking cash and gift cards and throwing away the ones that contained checks because she couldn't cash them, police said.
She also said the necklace she was wearing had been swiped from a package. She also took several gift cards and a gift certificate out of her wallet.
She told police she had no idea how many pieces of mail she had taken. Police had received about 30 complaints about missing mail, including cards that contained family photos, as well as cash or gift cards.
Semensi is due back in court March 2, where she's expected to choose whether she'll have a jury trial or one in front of a judge.
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