OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An eastern Nebraska man has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for impersonating a federal officer.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Nebraska says in a news release that 56-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Ostdiek was sentenced Tuesday to 17 months in prison after he was found guilty in September of four counts of impersonating a federal officer.
Prosecutors say Ostdiek went to several places in Omaha between October 2016 and January 2017 claiming to be a postal inspector or postmaster general.
Prosecutors say that in September 2020, Ostdiek also went to several businesses and a home claiming to be a U.S. marshal.
US Attorney Office press release
Omaha Man Convicted of Impersonating a Federal Officer
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Jeffrey Thomas Ostdiek, 56, of Omaha, Nebraska, was found guilty today following a three-day jury trial in federal court for four counts of impersonating a federal officer. The Honorable Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., scheduled Ostdiek’s sentencing for January 7, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. Ostdiek faces up to six years in prison.
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 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.