In the fast-paced, often-frustrating world of package delivery, one Memphis FedEx employee decided to add a dash of criminal enterprise to his daily routine by moonlighting as a professional swiper of other people’s treasures. Antwone Tate, the employee in question, must have skimmed over—or more likely tore up—the fine print of his FedEx employee handbook. Instead of signing for a job well done, he allegedly signed his name on pawn shop receipts and online auction listings.
The lack of subtlety in Tate’s alleged escapades is quite remarkable. Loss Prevention at FedEx’s Memphis hub initially intercepted the caper on May 27, upon noticing an unsettling number of package disappearances. Soon the trail led them away from the polished uniforms and branded delivery trucks to a far less corporate environment—a pawn shop stacked with other people’s luxuries.
The items that Tate allegedly boosted were far from everyday trinkets. The most dazzling of his cloaked acquisitions was an $8,500 diamond ring. But that wasn’t the sole glittering prize transported through the backdoor of FedEx’s operation. Nearly $14,000 worth of gold bars were also reported missing. Tate promptly pawned these valuables, unable to comprehend—or perhaps unconcerned by—the idea that leaving a paper trail was not the best way to conduct a secret business.
Now, package-pilfering bingo wouldn’t be complete without a few pieces of historical memorabilia. Enter a pair of baseball cards that any avid collector would gratefully jeopardize a month’s salary to snag: a 1915 Cracker Jack Chief Bender and a 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Ty Cobb. The two cards boasted a combined value of $6,800, making them the holy grail in the quick cash heist Tate allegedly orchestrated.
The story takes a digital turn when prospective buyers, sticky-fingered FedEx employees, or simply fossilized baseball fans, found these cards listed on eBay. Under the affectionate seller name antta_57, which may as well have been labeled “Catch Me If You Can,” the cards were traced right back to our entrepreneurial criminal. In an age where everything is tracked, traced, and ratified online, Tate’s missteps resemble those of a crook in a 1920s black-and-white slapstick film rather than a modern-day fox.
FedEx, ever the understated giant, didn’t let Tate’s alleged allegations linger unanswered. The company responded with graceful corporate finesse, emphasizing not only his official removal from the employee ledger but also an implicit public service announcement: Stealing isn’t, and will never be, endorsed by their delivery professionals.
The incident has posed a comical warning to naive penchants who eye a box with a sense of larceny fueled curiosity. The reminder is simple: your antics, coded deliveries, and under-the-table exchanges are destined for discovery. And if you’re selling unique, conspicuous items online—items that took an unplanned detour en route to their intended destinations—your fingerprint, albeit virtual, is right there for the sleuthing.
Antwone Tate now faces charges for property theft, a transformative departure from orchestrating clandestine delivery operations. The case serves as a surreal chapter in the handbook of crimes gone wrong—a chapter one imaginarily authored by a high-profile delivery professional who mistook a FedEx uniform for a free-for-all ticket to a modern treasure hunt.
As we move forward, next time you spy your meticulously tracked Amazon package slipping into abyssal limbo, a quick eBay search of misplaced treasures might yield unexpected clues or pitfalls. Just bear in mind, bidding on anything stamped antta_58 probably isn’t the safest place to lure your fiscal interest. Meanwhile, the rest of us can rest assured our parcels aren’t part of a one-man auction house at FedEx’s not-so-Fort Knox, just a carrier’s humble return to its intended path.
