A 37-year-old Washington state man was arrested Wednesday in a case involving the discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin. Authorities say one of the letters was sent to a federal judge. (May 23)
A North Texas postal worker has pleaded guilty to one count of theft of mail, according to records filed in Dallas federal court Monday. Now he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine — all for stealing two gift cards totaling $75.
Update: more details are available at Montgomery County Police Reporter
HOUSTON KTRK — Authorities believe they have found the body of a missing postal worker in San Jacinto County.Related Content
Eddie Youngblood, also known as ‘Marie,’ was using her Jeep to deliver mail in San Jacinto County yesterday. That burned out Jeep was later discovered on the side of Morris Creek Road near Coldspring.First responders found the car on fire after receiving a 911 call. It’s still not clear who made that call.
Read more: Body found in burned out Jeep in San Jacinto Co. believed to be missing postal worker | abc13.com.
US Postal Service Purchasing Specialist Gene Quarles has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison on bribery charges.
Quarles, 47, of Spotsylvania, Va., pleaded guilty in February to receiving thousands of dollars in bribes to use his position as a purchasing specialist for the United States Postal Service to obtain and facilitate contracts for a Maryland-based information technology firm.
Quarles pled guilty on Feb. 14, 2013, to bribery of a public official and faced a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Quarles worked for the United States Postal Service (USPS) since 2007. During the time in which he was accepting bribes, he served as a purchasing specialist, where he oversaw, evaluated, and managed USPS contracts relating to business mail entry and payment technologies.
In April 2010, officials with AH Computer Consulting, Inc. (AHCC), an international information technology consulting firm based in Rockville, Md., approached Quarles and offered to pay him bribes in exchange for various impermissible contracting preferences and advantages. Quarles accepted this offer, and from April 2010 through June 2012, AHCC employees paid Quarles numerous cash payments — totaling thousands of dollars — in exchange for Quarles’ providing advantages to AHCC during the USPS contracting process.
For example, Quarles provided AHCC with confidential USPS contracting information, including other vendors’ proposals and labor rates, so that AHCC could tailor its bids to what other potential contractors were bidding. Quarles also forwarded various private call-in numbers for conference calls between USPS officials, where official business was discussed, so that AHCC employees could anonymously listen in and get a leg-up on their competition. Quarles also allowed AHCC employees to complete surveys, evaluations, and other review materials in Quarles’ own name so that AHCC could obtain additional government contracts.
Quarles admitted that he used the bribe payments to pay for bills, rent, and other living expenses.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Chad Golder from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Inside those packages, birthday cards and bills, college applications, letters to loved ones and illegal drugs. Those drugs end up in our community.
It doesn’t want to be a drug courier, but it happens. The U.S. Postal Service is seeing an increase in the number of people trying to mail illegal drugs. But there’s also an increase in the number of people being caught too. From 2006 to 2011, nationwide there was a 371% jump in the number of people sending packages with illegal drugs inside.
News10NBC’s Janet Lomax sat down with a man whose job is to catch these criminals. She wanted to know how many of them are trying to use the U.S. Mail to deliver drugs in our area.
Read more: Mailing illegal drugs | www.WHEC.com.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Two men accused of stealing checks, credit cards and other items from local mailboxes using counterfeit U.S. Postal Service keys, are scheduled to be arraigned by a federal magistrate judge this afternoon, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Derrick F. Hutson, 42, and Marshal R. Stapleton, 27, both of Las Vegas, are scheduled to appear at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. McQuaid, Jr. They are charged with conspiracy, possession of stolen mail and unauthorized possession of counterfeit U.S. Postal Service keys.
According to the criminal complaint dated April 23, 2013, United States Postal Service employees recently received reports of several incidents of mail theft in the Summerlin and Northwest areas of Las Vegas. The reports indicated that entire contents of mailboxes had been removed from cluster-type mailboxes, but that no damage had occurred to the mailboxes indicating the use of a counterfeit key. Following an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Hutson and Stapleton were apprehended on April 15, 2013, at approximately 2:20 a.m. while they were sitting in a vehicle parked next to a cluster mail box in a Summerlin-area community. Postal Inspectors recovered from the vehicle counterfeit U.S. Postal Service keys and burglary tools. Postal Inspectors later recovered from their homes, stolen U.S. Postal Service mailbox locks and parts, counterfeit keys, counterfeit identity documents, credit card manufacturing devices, check software, and stolen mail.
The criminal indictment charges that between January and April 23, 2013, Hutson and Stapleton made and possessed counterfeit U.S. Post Office keys which they used to steal checks, gift cards, debit cards, credit cards, and other items from mailboxes in Las Vegas.
If convicted, Hutson and Stapleton face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy and stolen mail charges and up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the counterfeit key charges. They are currently in federal custody pending their arraignment tomorrow.
The case is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pugh.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov
MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court, a former U.S. postal carrier was sentenced for stealing from the mail he delivered. United States District Court Judge John R. Tunheim sentenced Giang Nguyen, age 49, of Superior, Wisconsin, to two years of probation, along with payment of restitution, and 100 hours of community service on one count of theft of mail by a postal employee. Nguyen was charged via an Information on September 6, 2012, and pleaded guilty on September 26, 2012.
Following today’s sentencing, Pete Gately, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General (“USPS-OIG”), said, “The majority of U.S. Postal Service employees are dedicated public servants who take great pride in ensuring the sanctity and security of the U.S. Mail. Unfortunately, Giang Nguyen betrayed the trust placed in him, and his actions resulted in deserved consequences for violating that trust. Today’s outcome demonstrates the ongoing commitment of the USPS-OIG and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to vigorously investigate and prosecute those matters. The public can remain confident that the USPS-OIG will continue to ensure the security of their mail.”
In his plea agreement, Nguyen admitted that from March 2010 to January 7, 2011, he removed applications for Menards rebate checks, the actual rebate checks, and Menards Big Game Money Cards from the mail he was entrusted to deliver. During this period, Nguyen was employed by the Duluth Post Office. Nguyen used the rebate checks and Big Game Money Cards that he stole to make purchases at Menards. He also altered the stolen rebate check applications so that Menards would issue the checks to him, rather than the customers on his route. In total, Nguyen stole at least 77 pieces of mail intended for Menards and residents on his route. Through his activity, Nguyen stole at least $1,456.75.
This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John E. Kokkinen and Lola Velazquez-Aguilu.
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SILVER SPRING, Md. -A postal worker taking a walk on her lunch break was sexually assaulted Thursday afternoon just after 2:30.
Montgomery County Police responded to the U.S. Post Office located at 110 University Boulevard W. in Silver Spring for a report of a sexual assault.
The 21-year-old postal employee was walking in the neighborhood behind the post office when approached by a man with a knife. Police say he forced the woman into the backyard of a house nearby where he sexually assaulted the victim.
A Sacramento-area postal worker is accused of throwing letters in the trash instead of people’s mailboxes.“Both my mother and my brother saw the mailman pull up to the trash can, and throw all the mail into the trash can. Full bucket; commercial, checks, everything,” said Habib Mojadedi, who lives near Meadowview and Freeport Boulevard.The police were called, and they found mail addressed to places all over the city in the garbage.
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A Royal Mail fraudster who embezzled almost £45,000 has been allowed more time to pay back the cash.
Angela Doran, 38, who pocketed the money and used it to fund a lavish lifestyle, had been watched as a result of parcels going missing from the city sorting office where she worked and was snared on July 14, 2010.
She was caught mid-shift with a parcel containing £2000 in her dungarees.
Read more: Mail fraudster given more time to pay back stolen cash – East Kilbride News.
