Bismarck, N.D. (AP) A former postmaster in North Dakota has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to misappropriation of postal funds that he said he used to meet the high cost of living in the state's oil patch.
Edmund Sharp the fourth was also ordered to pay restitution for the $7,500 he stole from the U.S. Postal Service while on the job in Beulah. Sharp has already paid the amount.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped a second charge of making false statements on postal financial reports.
Prosecutors say sharp falsified financial documents and made emergency salary advance requests in his employees' names but pocketed the money himself.
Sharp could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.