On Monday, July 29 at 12: 25 pm in front of 63-27 55th Ave in Maspeth, a 48 year old female – a mail carrier of Polish and American citizenship – was robbed at gunpoint by an unidentified male. NYPD says, there are no arrests and investigation is ongoing.
As Radio RAMPA confirmed, the female was doing her route of mail pickup at the time of the incident. She wishes to remain anonymous, but spoke directly to Radio RAMPA about her assault.
The victim has been a mail carrier with USPS for 10 years, and has been living in Maspeth.
According to the victim, she was waiting for mail pickup, when the male passed her. She did not pay much attention to him. The man came back shortly and said something to her. She had her headphones in. She took them out, and asked the man, if he could repeat what he just said. It was then, that the man put the gun to her stomach, and as the victim described, his face changed. It was clear to her that she should not move. She said she was paralyzed at that moment. She then raised her hands and the man took her postal key and left. The victim called 911.
According to the mail carrier, the postal key that was stolen, is used by mail carrier to open the green mail boxes that are filled up with mail by USPS. They are different from the blue mail boxes which people use to put the mail in. The mail in these green mail boxes is picked up by the mail carrier and delivered to the recipient. In reality it means, that the suspect having the key, can now steal from every green mail box that is filled with mail waiting to be delivered.
No injuries were reported, but the victim in conversation with Radio RAMPA admitted, that she is still terrified, to the point where she left the city for some time. She said, she feels afraid to go back to work, especially, taking into consideration the fact that the suspect has not been caught.
Radio RAMPA has learnt about other instances of mail theft or robberies targeting mail carriers. According to our sources, similar instances were observed in New York before, and they have started to become more significant since 2020 pandemic. Radio RAMPA sources talk about organized crime rings that target USPS workers.
Radio RAMPA reached out to NYPD, Mayor Eric Adams, Councilman Robert Holden and USPS for comment. Radio RAMPA also got in touch with Postal Police Officers Association, whose president believes that “Postal Service neutered its own uniformed police force in the midst of a mail theft epidemic.”
NYPD replied in a statement, “This incident is not part of a pattern. However, we have seen similar incidents where the target of the robbery is the mail carriers postal key. The safety of all New Yorker’s is paramount to the NYPD and we fully investigate all incidents to bring justice to the victims.”
During the press conference, Mayor Eric Adams answered Radio RAMPA, saying: ” 17,000 guns, illegal guns off our streets. Cannot say it any better. We created an anti-gun unit. They are out there going after those who carry illegal guns, not only against mail carriers, but against everyday citizens. The are bad people who are doing bad things to good people. And the Police Department has been extremely on their front foot to fight against that, and we’re going to do that. And we will catch the person responsible for it, as we did and as we are doing so many times. My heart goes out to the trauma of delivering mail and then having someone approach you with a gun. No one wants to go through that experience. It’s extremely traumatic to have a gun pointed at you. And when you rob a mail carrier, it carries additional penalties as well. And so, we will conduct an investigation. The chief of the Detective Bureau is going to allocate the necessary manpower, and we’ll find the person responsible.” When Radio RAMPA asked, if Mayor know, if this constitutes a a broader pattern that and if New York City is working with other cities on that issue, Mayor replied: “I have not heard that, but I will look into it to find out. Normally, if there’s a pattern in my meetings with the NYPD and the leadership, they bring them up. I have not heard that there’s a pattern, and maybe a national pattern. I don’t know. I will look into it.”
USPS also replied to Radio RAMPA’s request for comment. USPS replied: “Postal Inspectors can confirm that on July 29, 2024, a United States Postal Service letter carrier, assigned to Queens, was the victim of a robbery. USPIS takes matters involving the safety and well-being of postal service employees as a top priority. We are working diligently with our local law enforcement partners on this investigation. To protect the integrity of the investigation, we cannot provide further details at this time. If your readers have information, please contact us at 877-876-2455 (say “Law Enforcement”) or via Twitter, @PostalInspector.” USPS however, admitted in the email to Radio RAMPA, that in May 2023, “in direct response to combat the recent rise in threats and attacks on letter carriers and mail theft incidents”, initiative called Project Safe Delivery was announced. Radio RAMPA was informed by USPS, that “to protect the mail stream and our employees, thousands of blue collection boxes have been replaced with a new high-security blue collection box. Tens of thousands of antiquated arrow locks have been replaced with electronic mechanisms, with more to come. These updated mechanisms have an electronic component, that thieves will be unable to duplicate, like a two-factor authentication. This removes the very thing criminals are seeking in robberies of our letter carrier, their postal keys. From May 2023 through June 30, 2024, the Inspection Service has made 1,700 arrests for postal robberies and mail theft across the nation.” When Radio RAMPA asked USPS to specify, how many of these statistics concern New York City, we did not get reply.
Radio RAMPA sources said that some robbers target mail in order to steal checks or people’s identities. One source talked about his checks being repeatedly stolen – that person discovered the theft, only by checking their bank account, and realizing, that the check was deposited not by the intended recipient, but some other unknown entity.
According to USP Inspection Service website, between May 12, 2023 and June 30, 2024 there were – nationwide – 1413 arrests related to mail theft and 287 arrests related to letter carrier robberies. The website cites some examples: In February 2024, Teshan D. Jordan, 27, of Temple Hills, MD, was sentenced to 35 years after being convicted by a jury for armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, use of firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, and theft. / Lamarion Gray, 19, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to seven and one-half years in prison for the armed robbery of a United States postal carrier last summer. / On February 27, 2024, a federal judge sentenced 38-year-old Jermain Tyrone Holmes, from Dothan, Alabama, to 130 months – that is over 10 years – in prison.
USPS informed Radio RAMPA that “enhancing delivery security is crucial to stopping mail thieves and preventing associated postal crimes, such as robberies of letter carriers. Three key components of this effort are deploying more secure mail receptacles, installing better locking mechanisms, and implementing increased security and accountability for collection box access. The Postal Inspection Service collaborated with the Postal Service on the design of a new delivery vehicle that integrates enhanced security components, which will be deployed in the near future.” Furthermore, they said, “The Postal Inspection Service will collaborate with DOJ to target and prioritize investigations of criminal organizations, especially those that commit gun violence and other violent acts against letter carriers, in alignment with DOJ’s FY 2022-FY 2026 Strategic Plan. In addition, Inspectors have been providing USPS employees with preventative measures on how to combat mail theft and from becoming a victim in a violent crime.”
Nonetheless, the victim of the attack in Maspeth said, she does not feel that she received any proper care from her employee. She said, that office of Councilman Robert Holden, representing Maspeth in New York City Council, was helpful to her the most, referring a social worker who she felt understood by.
Councilman Robert Holden spoke to Radio RAMPA and confirmed, that he worked with Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to help the victim. Robert Holden said, that penalties for attacking mail career are not harsh enough. Holden believes, that this should be a wake up call for the public to talk about the issue to their senators and congress people. Holden also added, that USPS became agency, that is “not respected, nor functional.” The Councilman underlined, that the victim is a resident of Maspeth, who is loved by the neighborhood she serves.
The problem may be rooted in the internal problems of USPS. According to Frank Albergo, National President of Postal Police Officers Association, “the Postal Service neutered its own uniformed police force in the midst of a mail theft epidemic.” Albergo explained that the PPOA represents uniformed police officers employed by the United States Postal Inspection Service. According to Albergo, “PPOs, for years, were conducting mail theft prevention and letter carrier protection patrols by using data to target specific zip codes where mail theft was most prevalent.” As Albergo explained, “on August 25, 2020, the Postal Service reinterpreted enabling statute in order to decrease postal police law enforcement jurisdiction thereby ending all postal police patrolling activities. In response, the PPOA filed two lawsuits. On February 28, 2024, a Federal Court ruled for a second time that the law which empowers PPOs—18 U.S.C. § 3061(c)—is ambiguous thereby rejecting the Postal Service’s narrow interpretation of the law,” continues Albergo. “Given this ambiguity which would allow the Postal Service to grant policing power to PPOs — one would have thought that PPOs would be back out on the street again—where they are needed most—to protect postal employees and the mail. The Postal Service, however, inexplicably refuses to utilize PPOs. Instead, the Postal Service insists on confining its highly-trained uniformed police force to USPS real property while simultaneously, mail theft and assaults on postal workers are increasing at exponential rates.”
According to USPIS’ annual reports, robbery cases rose while the USPIS conviction rate decreased from FY2019 to FY2022:
FY2019 – 94 cases, 65 convictions — 69% conviction rate
FY2020 – 140 cases, 31 convictions — 22% conviction rate
FY2021 – 253 cases, 42 convictions — 17% conviction rate
FY2022 – 423 cases, 68 convictions – 16% conviction rate
FY2023 – 628 cases, 93 convictions – 15% conviction rate
Source: https://www.uspis.gov/annual-report
Albergo concludes, saying “The U.S. Postal Service, perhaps America’s most beloved institution, is in peril. Postal workers are being attacked and mail is being stolen at unprecedented levels. Make no mistake, the Postal Inspection Service is doing very little about it. In fact, the Inspection Service has begun the process of defunding its uniformed postal police force during an unparalleled postal crime wave.”
Monika Adamski
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