National Guard worker accused of stealing $39,000
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BY LORI PILGER / Lincoln Journal Star
A mailroom worker is accused of helping herself to $39,000 worth of checks meant for the Nebraska National Guard.
Antrina Berks, 45, 2920 N. 54th St., was arrested Monday.
On Tuesday, she stood in front of Lancaster County Judge Jean Lovell on nine charges — five of them felonies.
If convicted, she faces at least four years in prison.
The prosecution alleges Berks took seven checks from the mailroom where she worked at the Nebraska National Guard, near 14th Street and Military Road.
The checks, which added up to $39,791.70, included:
* One from VFW Post No. 9844 in Yutan for $50
* Two from ADT Security Services for $183 and $23.67
* One from Info USA for $325
* One from Aquila for $117.58
* Two from the U.S. Postal Service for $9,475.45 and $29,617.
Berks, a National Guard member, has resigned from her mailroom job, court records say.
Dave Heidbrink, an investigator with the Nebraska State Patrol, alleges Berks endorsed and deposited the checks in an account she opened in October 2005, purportedly on behalf of the Guard.
She was not authorized to endorse the checks or open the account, he said. Her job was to process incoming mail and packages and help offices with postage.
Berks faces two other felony charges —theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception— for dealings with the Lincoln Housing Authority.
She allegedly reported only part of her income in order to obtain $12,756 in housing assistance from May 2005 to April 2007 and forged employment verifications sent out to the Nebraska National Guard in 2005 and 2006.
During a court hearing Tuesday afternoon, Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Doug Warner read through each of the counts and possible penalties they carry.
When asked if she understood the charges, Berks answered “not all,” but then said she did understand that nine charges had been filed against her.
She said she couldn’t afford an attorney, and the judge appointed the Public Defender’s Office.
Lovell also set Berks’ percentage bond at $20,000, at the request of the prosecuting attorney, who said Berks had gotten pretrial diversion on an unrelated theft case in December and had a phony date of birth on her driver’s license.
Warner said it was his understanding Berks still was in the Nebraska National Guard.
Calls seeking comment from the Guard were unanswered.
Reach Lori Pilger at 473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
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