May 25, 2013
A supervisor in the ECU mailroom ended up behind bars on Friday, accused of stealing money and other items out of students' mail.
Iris Harper of Greenville was arrested today by ECU police and charged with embezzlement of state property by a public employee. They say Harper is accused of stealing mail that contained primarily cash and gift cards.
ECU police say there are at least 300 victims, and most are students. They believe the thefts started last spring.
Police announced her arrest at an afternoon news conference on campus. They say a joint criminal investigation with the U.S. Postal Service into mail theft began in September after complaints from students that they were not getting mail sent to them.
The 49-year-old Harper was released from jail on a $15,000 secured bond. A university directory lists her as supervisor of main campus mail.
Harper, who has worked at ECU for almost 22 years, is no longer assigned to the mailroom, according to the university.
