They say opportunity knocks once, but for one bold FedEx employee, it was more of a smash-and-grab than a polite knock. Antwone Tate found himself at the center of a cinematic escapade featuring gold bars, glittering diamonds, and vintage baseball cards—all of which could have easily been props in a Hollywood heist film.
The bizarre tale unfolds at FedEx’s bustling Memphis Hub, a hive of activity where packages zip around like bumper cars at rush hour. Here, Tate allegedly seized opportunities not afforded by his job description. The saga began when several luscious parcels mysteriously disappeared on May 27, setting off alarm bells for the ever-watchful Loss Prevention team. Their curiosity was piqued, having spotted a trail tempting enough to make any detective don a Sherlock Holmes hat.
Like a seasoned (but careless) treasure hunter, Tate embarked on his own adventures. Perhaps he believed the adage “finders keepers” applied when parcels changed hands. But this wasn’t a playground, and his naive simplicity might cost him more than a wrist slap. His selected trove included, memorably, an $8,500 diamond ring—enough to make the eyes of any romantic or thief glisten. Not to be outdone by shiny baubles, he also set his sights on nearly $14,000 worth of gold bullion, handling them with all the discretion of a bull in a china shop.
Tate’s antics might have remained in the shadows—cloaked in the anonymity of logistics—if not for the glaring mistake of identifying himself plainly. The glistening ring and gold, treasures fit for a Midas story, were promptly pawned at a local thrift. Common sense, however, hadn’t made it into Tate’s playbook; all transactions were courteous of his personal driver’s license. Predictably, the paper trail led authorities straight to him with the finesse of a GPS.
Had our enterprising Tate stopped at just gold and glamour, perhaps this story ends differently. Alas, his taste also ran to the nostalgic, demonstrated by his theft of a parcel headlining rare gems from another stratosphere—the high-stakes world of vintage baseball cards. Chief among these were a 1915 Cracker Jack Chief Bender and a 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Ty Cobb, each harboring a value that could fund a moderately fancy deck of sports memorabilia.
Unfortunately, hawking these relics proved problematic. Police quickly unearthed them in cyberspace, resting on eBay under the seller name antta_57. A case of digital breadcrumbs leading the lawmen right back to their quarry, it might as well have been titled here_are_the_stolen_goods. Tate’s undoing seemed all but assured once his eBay account spilled the beans.
While Tate was busy reinventing himself as a ‘buyer’s remorse resolution expert,’ FedEx had other ideas. Despite the temporary displacement of some very expensive merchandise, they responded with corporate decorum tailor-made for such infractions. Confirming through a statement that Tate had been served the company’s ultimate notice, FedEx reminded the public that package pilfering, contrary to some unique interpretations, is not sanctioned as an employee perk.
The counterintuitive logic that drove Tate’s clandestine operations brings to mind ancient parables about biting off more than one can chew. Indeed, pilfering gold may return a fleeting rush; however, it typically ends with a less-than-glorious conclusion when one’s identity is as thinly veiled as a summer breeze. The moral of this particular tale, for those seeking it, might be found in a caution against hubris or perhaps in the pragmatic wisdom of keeping one’s day job.
For his troubles, Tate faces charges of theft, the legal rendition of “you took it, now please bring it back.” As FedEx ensures that only legitimate deliveries etch into their future, customers nationwide are left to ponder the fate of their own packages—and to perhaps occasionally glance at eBay with a skeptical eye. In this case, it wasn’t robbers on horseback but a misled courier who believed himself clever enough to pocket treasure. Perhaps next time, he’ll stick to on-time deliveries instead of a dead-end detour through Pawn Alley.
