Omaha man sentenced for impersonating a federal officer

OMAHA, Neb. -- An Omaha man was sentenced in federal court on Tuesday for impersonating a federal officer.

Judge Robert F. Rossiter Jr. sentenced 56-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Ostdiek to 17 months in federal prison, where there is no parole. After his release from prison, Ostdiek will serve a 1-year term of supervised release.

Between October 2016 and at least January 2017, Ostdiek went to multiple locations in the Omaha area claiming to be a postal inspector or postmaster general. Ostdiek wore identification that he made from Postal Service receipts along with a body-worn video camera. On one of these occasions, Ostdiek convinced an actual United States Postal Service employee to accompany him to the Douglas County Courthouse where he demanded to meet with a government official, all under the pretense of being a postal inspector investigating a legal matter concerning his brother.

In September 2020, Ostdiek went to multiple locations in the Omaha area claiming to be a United States Marshal. Ostdiek wore a six-pointed star belt buckle along with a body-worn video camera. On one of these occasions, Ostdiek went to a business in Omaha seeking contact information for a former employee. Ostdiek left a note to pass on to the former employee asking her to call “Marshal Thomas.”

“This defendant impersonated a Postal Inspector, a U.S. Marshal, and the Postmaster General, but Postal Inspectors in Nebraska worked with their local and federal partners to bring him to justice,” said Ruth Mendonça, Inspector in Charge of the Denver Division, which includes Nebraska.

“Today’s sentence affirms the importance of the law enforcement oath to protect and serve. All Postal Inspectors carry badges and credentials which identify them as federal agents. Postal Inspectors have immense authority entrusted to them by the American Public. If an individual has concerns, a call can be placed to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service or their local law enforcement agency to verify that a person is a Postal Inspector on official business,” said Mendonça.

The United States Marshal Service also noted that their agency is seeing an increase in impersonation investigations and urged the public to continue to report such incidents.

This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office, United States Marshal Service, and United States Postal Inspection Service.