One northeast Iowa resident has pled guilty, while another’s been charged in two separate theft cases. A former Independence school custodian has pled guilty to stealing money that was collected in a benefit for a student who has Leukemia. 43-year-old Robert Ferres pleaded guilty to second-degree theft after admitting to taking a money back out of a vault. He was given a deferred judgment, five years probation, and was ordered to pay back 500 dollars. A former Dubuque postal union official has been charged in federal court with embezzling union funds. 47-year-old Deborah Herrig of Dubuque is charged with one count of embezzlement and theft of labor union assets. Herrig is the former secretary of the Postal Workers Local 23-39, and is accused of stealing union funds over a six-year period.