Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced today that THOMAS DOMBROSKI, age 53, of North Syracuse, New York entered a guilty plea today , Thursday, June 21, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Syracuse, New York before the Hon. Norman A. Mordue, U.S. District Court Judge.

THOMAS DOMBROSKI, a former letter carrier with the U.S. Post Office in East Syracuse, N.Y., admitted to defrauding the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Department of Labor of $18,353.54 by making false statements and representations to obtain federal workers compensation benefits. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 5 years incarceration, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of three years, and a special assessment of $100.

In entering his guilty plea, DOMBROSKI admitted that he falsely represented that he was not employed, self-employed, or involved in any business enterprise during periods of time in 2010 and 2011 when he was collecting federal workers compensation benefits. He was receiving benefits based upon a claimed injury to his right shoulder that he said made him unable to use his right arm. In fact, DOMBROSKI, worked for his own company, Picture Perfect Contractors, installing and repairing roofs and providing general home repair services during the times he collected benefits. Agents videotaped DOMBROSKI installing roofs, carrying building materials, repairing gutters, loading and carrying logs and firewood, carrying cement cinder blocks, and lifting a 55-pound air compressor.

Sentencing has been set for October 24, 2012, in Syracuse, New York. This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

From USPS News Link:

PMG Pat Donahoe has announced that a serious health condition has forced Chief Information Officer (CIO) Ellis Burgoyne to take a leave of absence.

While Burgoyne recovers, Donahoe has appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Joe Corbett to temporarily fill the CIO position.

Donahoe said Corbett’s executive skills make him a good choice to temporarily assume Burgoyne’s responsibilities. “I have great faith in Joe’s executive ability,” he said. “I believe he will be able to maintain the excellent momentum Ellis has built within his group as CIO.”

Finance and Planning VP Steve Masse will become the CFO during this period. Masse, with 25 years of experience in providing financial management and leadership services to successful business operations, joined the Postal Service in 2009. “Steve has been involved in every major planning effort and business decision over the past three years,” said Donahoe. “He is a valued advisor and contributor.”

Donahoe noted the two officers are well qualified to meet the requirements of their temporary positions. “Given the financial challenges we face, it’s a testament to both Joe and Steve that we can make this transition at this time and with such great confidence, said the PMG.

Finally, Cynthia Sanchez-Hernandez, currently manager, Finance and Planning, will take over as Acting Finance and Planning VP. “Cynthia has done a remarkable job,” Donahoe said. “She was integrally involved in the development of the Five-Year Business Plan and is currently working to develop the 2013 Integrated Financial Plan. She is well positioned to assume this new interim role.”

Ellis Burgoyne was named CIO and executive vice president in 2010. The Postal Service’s CIO oversees its data systems and is responsible for the development of new products to meet changing customer needs. “The CIO function is vitally important to the success of our organization,” Donahoe said. “It is integral to everything we do and drives some of our most important initiatives.”

From Postcom:

At the hearing held today on the nominations of James C. Miller III and Katherine C. Tobin for terms as Govenors of the Postal Service, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that she was extremely disappointed by the "intemperate reaction" by the postal governors to S. 1789. She said she was particularly disappointed that both nominees hold similarly to these criticisms. "It is not helpful," she said, "to have nominees criticizing the one bill that has made it through the Senate." Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE) said that Sen. Collin’s comments reflect his own feelings as well.

via PostCom: Postal News and Information from Around the World.

LIVONIA, Mich., June 21, 2012  — Valassis (NYSE: VCI), one of the nation’s leading media and marketing services companies, today announced it has enhanced its digital display network – the Valassis Audience Network – with the acquisition of Brand.net, an online display, video and mobile advertising platform. Combined with the Valassis Audience Network, the components of an expansive network of online and offline data, state-of-the-art ad serving and targeting technology, come together – Valassis is Re-Imagining Reach™.

With Brand.net, the Valassis Audience Network now enables advertisers to reach and influence consumers on their journey from awareness to action with greater relevance, impact and results. Re-Imagining Reach highlights Valassis’ strength of reaching today’s diverse consumers at a scale and accuracy unmatched by others, getting the right message to the right consumer in the right medium at the right time.

“The traditional path to purchase was linear and brought the consumer from awareness to action one step at a time,” said Rob Mason, Valassis President and Chief Executive Officer. “Today, consumers are in control and their media habits are changing at a remarkable rate which means that clients need to use a mix of media to stay both visible and relevant. That’s where Valassis has a proprietary advantage – we deliver targeted, print and digital solutions to engage consumers at every point along the path to purchase.”

Whether marketers are interested in building awareness or driving purchase behavior, Valassis can meet their objectives by integrating their offline and online promotions. Valassis, with the addition of Brand.net, offers advertisers the ability to uniquely combine targeting, insights and data to:

• Reach their most relevant audiences at scale with the highest quality media;
• Leverage SafeScreen™ technology ensuring their content will only be seen on sites that meet their criteria;
• Stand out across high-impact environments such as display, video, mobile, and tablets; and
• Achieve more consistent campaign results to drive ROI.

Brand.net, a Valassis Company, has offices in Silicon Valley and New York City.

Agoura, CA (PRWEB) June 21, 2012 — Datatech SmartSoft, an industry-leading provider of address verification and mailing software, today announced the release of MailSpotter, a new service for mailers that tracks the progress of mailings as they work their way through the postal system.

Using the IM barcode, MailSpotter takes raw scan data from the USPS as mail passes through postal facilities across the nation and turns it into easy-to-read charts, graphs and tables that lets a mailer know exactly what has been delivered, where, and to whom.

Additionally, MailSpotter includes a powerful QR Code creation and tracking feature that can generate unique QR codes for every single recipient. Every time a QR Code is scanned the mailer can receive real-time text or email alerts with details on who scanned it, and where it was scanned. MailSpotter’s detailed insight helps mailers:

• Know when to expect customer responses and prepare accordingly
• Identify mail delivery patterns and problems early enough to react
• Drill down to the specific mailpiece for customer-by-customer analysis
• Test different delivery options or analyze response rates based on the day of delivery

It also provides marketing service providers, printers and mail houses with an additional value-added service that they can offer to their customers, creating additional revenue opportunities. The MailSpotter reporting portal, which customers can access to view their reports, can be customized with the service provider’s logo and company name.

“MailSpotter was designed for any mailer looking to remove the guesswork that often follows the sending out of a mailing“, said Michael Shroyer, President of Datatech SmartSoft. “Now they will know exactly where their mail is – if it was delivered and when it was delivered.

“Also, since the MailSpotter service includes a powerful QR Code functionality, they’ll even know if their message was read, and who read it – all in real time – providing instant campaign feedback. This level of interactivity really helps to deliver on some of the promises of QR code technology, and takes direct mail marketing to the next level.

“We also want mailers of all sizes to be able to take advantage of this new technology, so we are pricing it affordably, based on the amount of mail that they track through MailSpotter, including an unlimited model for larger mailers or service providers who want to take advantage of the additional revenue and value-added benefits that this service offers them.”

To find out more about MailSpotter, visit http://www.smartsoftusa.com/mailspotter.html. To schedule a demo, email info(at)smartsoftusa(dot)com or call SmartSoft on 888.227.7221.

About Datatech SmartSoft, Inc.

Datatech SmartSoft has been creating innovative software solutions since 1995. They provide desktop and enterprise-level solutions for postal address correction, postal discounts, and print workflow management. Their products include AccuMail® frameworks postal address correction and postal presorting software, the all-in-one mailing software solution, SmartAddresser 5™, real-time address validation software, AccuMail Verify, Canadian address accuracy software, frameworks Canada, and the end-to-end print workflow solution, PressWise. Datatech SmartSoft is a privately held company with offices in Agoura, Santa Barbara, Philadelphia and Montreal. Visit http://www.smartsoftusa.com for more information.