USPS Carriers Get Angry and Greedy

Daniel Darby leaves Brooklyn federal court on Dec. 29.
Photo: Stefan Jeremiah

[From article]
A Queens mailman was so stressed by the number of holiday cards and gifts he was supposed to deliver this year that he simply dumped hundreds of them in the trash, court papers claim.
Ozone Park postman Daniel Darby, 25, was “overwhelmed” by the uptick in his early December mail, so he went to a neighborhood Stop & Shop the night of Dec. 2 — his first day on a new route — and bought three white garbage bags, according to Brooklyn federal court documents.
Darby then allegedly stuffed the holiday mail in the bags and dumped them in a residential garbage can. They were discovered two days later.



The cooked courier admitted to “ripping open” some of the mail “to see what it contained,” according to the criminal complaint.
He was arraigned on charges of unlawfully delaying and destroying the mail Tuesday — as was another alleged rogue postal worker.
The second mail carrier, who worked in Brooklyn, is accused of swiping about 50 gift cards from envelopes and then treating himself to $1,000 in goodies over the past year, according to court papers.


James Hayden
Photo: Stefan Jeremiah

http://nypost.com/2015/12/29/overwhelmed-mailman-tosses-hundreds-of-holiday-presents-in-trash/

Overwhelmed mailman tosses hundreds of holiday presents in trash: officials
By Priscilla DeGregory
New York Post
December 29, 2015 | 4:25pm

Naughty USPS Employees Ran "Dear Santa" Fraud

[From article]

Three part-time workers at the huge James A. Farley Post Office in Midtown allegedly rigged the famous “Operation Santa” charity program so they could steal iPads, laptops, and even toy trains and clothes meant for needy tots.
The naughty mail handlers pulled off the pre-Christmas scam by writing their own “Dear Santa” letters, posing as kids in need and including their own addresses, so hapless donors would send the goodies their way, federal authorities charged in court Wednesday.
“Every gift that was fraudulently obtained by a participant in the scheme effectively deprived an underprivileged child of a gift,” the criminal complaint notes.
The three guaranteed they’d get a big haul by submitting as many as 20 copies of each humbug letter, “to increase the odds that the letter would be selected by a Secret Santa,” the complaint says.
But sometimes they’d just keep it simple, and merely switch their own mailing addresses for the needy kids’ address on already-donated gifts.
They pulled the fraud during the past two Christmases and all three “bad Santas” have admitted their roles, the feds say. They’re charged with conspiracy and mail fraud. They were arrested Wednesday and are due back before a judge July 17.
“That’s low!” said one fellow postal employee. “That’s gifts for kids on Christmas! How low can you get?”
Mahogany Strickland, 23, who ironically lives on St. Nicholas Ave. in Manhattan, was the public face of the scam, the feds say.

http://nypost.com/2015/06/17/postal-workers-charged-in-operation-santa-scam/

Postal workers charged in ‘Operation Santa’ scam
By Josh Saul and David K. Li
June 17, 2015 | 11:09am

Husband of US Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) Set To Earn $1 billion From USPS Sale

Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Photo: AP Photo
[From article]
Ever wonder how lowly paid lawmakers leave office filthy rich?
Sen. Dianne Feinstein is showing how it’s done.
The US Postal Service plans to sell 56 buildings — so it can lease space more expensively — and the real estate company of the California senator’s husband, Richard Blum, is set to pocket about $1 billion in commissions.
Blum’s company, CBRE, was selected in March 2011 as the sole real estate agent on sales expected to fetch $19 billion. Most voters didn’t notice that Blum is a member of CBRE’s board and served as chairman from 2001 to 2014.
This feat of federal spousal support was ignored by the media after Feinstein’s office said the senator, whose wealth is pegged at $70 million, had nothing to do with the USPS decisions.
When the national debt is $18 trillion, a billion seems like small change.

http://pagesix.com/2015/01/16/senators-husband-stands-to-profit-from-government-deal/?_ga=1.168202210.212440808.1402078759

Senator’s husband stands to profit big from government deal
By Richard Johnson
New York Post Page Six
January 16, 2015 | 5:48pm

NYC USPS Carrier Did Not Deliver 40,000 Pieces of Mail

[From article]
A New York City mailman failed to deliver about 40,000 pieces of mail--some of which date back nearly a decade--and stashed the parcels and letters in his work locker, car, and Brooklyn home, investigators allege.
Federal agents this week began investigating Joseph Brucato, 67, after receiving information that there was undelivered mail in his personal vehicle.
When he was confronted Tuesday, Brucato told agents that he had been keeping undelivered mail in his car for the past six months, noting that “on some days he did not deliver the mail intended for his route for various personal reasons.”

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/mail/nyc-mailman-busted-675031

SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
Feds: NYC Mailman Hoarded 40,000 Pieces Of Undelivered Mail In His Home, Car, Locker
September 26, 2014

US Postal Employees Block Mail To Israel, Contrary To Policy

[From article]
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says that it has “filed complaints” from USPS customers in Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey “who were improperly informed” that deliveries to Israel had been stopped.
“The postal employees have told these individuals that current USPS policy says that mail to Israel cannot be accepted because of the current crisis,” ADL national director Abraham Foxman, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Only once employees sought clarification from supervisors in Washington did these post offices accept packages and letters to Israel.”
[. . .]
No authorization was ever granted to stop mail delivery to Israel and the USPS attempted to ensure that service to Israel continued during the duration of the Federal Aviation Authority’s (FAA) suspension of flights to Israel last month.
“There was no authorized announcement of a temporary suspension of international mail dispatched abroad by the U.S. Postal Service to Israel during the FAA flight suspension affecting Ben Gurion International Airport on July 22 and 23,” the spokesman said. “During this period, the U.S. Postal Service continued to dispatch abroad U.S. mail and packages addressed to Israel through transportation on cargo flights and other carriers that were authorized to fly to Ben Gurion airport into Israel.”

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/postal-service-apologizes-for-denying-mail-deliveries-to-israel/

Postal Service Apologizes for Denying Mail Deliveries to Israel
Faced criticism from human rights groups
BY: Adam Kredo
August 14, 2014 12:40 pm

USPS Wants To Compete With NSA

[From article]

The idea was first raised at a January 28, 2014 meeting sponsored by the OIG and the Universal Postal Union. The "Internet of Things" concept is defined in the documents accompanying the OIG's solicitation as:
[T]he ability to embed sensors and other data collection technologies into physical objects, infrastructures, and the surroundings in which people live and businesses operate – is one of the latest technology revolutions that are affecting the nature of business.
The OIG acknowledges the issue of privacy and asks that respondents have "appropriate knowledge to assess the impact of privacy and transparency policies on the design of data strategies is also requested."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/postal-service-explores-sensors-data-collection-vehicles-mailboxes-machines-letter-carriers_795287.html

Postal Service Explores Sensors, Data Collection Via 'Vehicles, Mailboxes, Machines, Letter Carriers'
7:01 AM, JUN 18, 2014 • BY JERYL BIER

USPS Carrier Charged With Theft of 20K Pieces of Mail

[From article]
A Catonsville letter carrier who worked for the postal service for more than two decades stole more than 20,000 pieces of mail, according to federal authorities.
Jeffrey L. Shipley is accused of pilfering checks and money orders. He is accused of filching passports and prescription medication. He is accused of pilfering credit cards and Mother's Day cards. He is even accused of stealing furniture from the United States Postal Service.
Shipley was charged in federal court last week with one count each of mail theft and delaying the mail.
[. . .]
They found, according to court documents, a Food Lion bag, trash bags, boxes and official postal service tubs full of mail, as well of stacks of Netflix DVDs, gift cards and magazines, a $100 bag of coins from the U.S. Mint and three stools marked "Property of USPS."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/catonsville/bs-md-mail-theft-20140602,0,1358788.story#ixzz33VBd5jee

Catonsville postman accused in theft of 20K pieces of mail
Jeffrey L. Shipley worked for postal services for over 20 years
By Ian Duncan and Brandi Bottalico

The Baltimore Sun
10:35 a.m. EDT, June 2, 2014

USPS, Survival May Require No Saturday Delivery

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49992517

USPS Chief Lays Out Plan for the Agency’s Survival
Wednesday, 28 Nov 2012 | 9:20 AM ET
AP

Postman Delivers Marijuana In Florida

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/Marathon-Mail-Carrier-Busted-With-10-Pounds-of-Pot-144893765.html?dr



Veronica Johnson

Marathon Mail Carrier Busted With 10 Pounds of Pot
Postal worker was paid to deliver packages of marijuana: Police
By Brian Hamacher
Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 | Updated 11:13 AM EDT

Postman Explains Why He Tells Now About Obama

http://www.wnd.com/2012/03/mailman-discouraged-from-telling-obama-story/


WND EXCLUSIVE
MAILMAN DISCOURAGED FROM TELLING OBAMA STORY
Told family and friends: They 'did not want to hear this'
March 25, 2012

Carrier Negligence


Mr. Dill, I hate to disappoint you but to the USPS your mail is just paper. There are frequent news reports of carriers who don't deliver the mail and just throw it away or keep it in their homes or storage. People often believe that the post office can be relied on to deliver the mail but don't trust politicians. People are people. There are very few Sullenbergers in this country left. Most people just want the money without doing any work. If they can steal it they will. I've had my mail stolen and held back for 35 years. My complaints to postal authorities were laughed at. Criminals run the country. Wake up!

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/opinions/x898855165/Letter-Post-office-problems

Letter: Post office problems
Wed Feb 25, 2009, 05:53 AM EST
Cambridge Chronicle
RICHARD DILL
Huron Avenue