NYC Postal Worker Accused Of Rigging 'Operation Santa' Pleads Guilty

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mahogany Strickland, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. She could face up to 30 days in jail.

Mahogany Strickland, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. She could face up to 30 days in jail.

In June, Strickland and two other postal workers -- Terry Jackson and Nickyeves Saintalbord were charged with writing phony letters for the Operation Santa program, an annual Christmas drive at the James A. Farley Post Office.

"Operation Santa" invites the public to read letters sent to Santa at the NYC post office and also accepts gift donations for items requested by underprivileged children.

WEB EXTRA: Read The Original Complaint

They asked Santa for boots, laptop and tablet computers and headphones in the scam between November 2013 and January 2014, prosecutors said.

Strickland redirected at least three packages containing snow boots, clothing and a toy train, to her home on, of all places, St. Nicholas Avenue, prosecutors said earlier this year.

Strickland, Jackson and Saintalbord also originally received federal charges of conspiracy, receipt of stolen mail and mail fraud, but prosecutors said those charges were dropped.

Strickland's attorney said Friday that she lost her job at the post office. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 15.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)