Postal Employee Indicted For Cashing More Than $41,000 In Money Orders
Press Release from US Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota
A United States Postal Service (“USPS”) employee was indicted in federal court for allegedly stealing and cashing approximately 80 money orders totaling more than $41,000 for her personal use. The indictment, which was filed with the U.S. District Court earlier today, charges Linda Kay Johnson, age 60, of Lewisville, with one count of fraudulently issuing money orders and one count of false entries and reports of money.
The indictment alleges Johnson issued the money orders from August 9, 2008, through December 4, 2008. In addition, it alleges she deceived the USPS by making false entries in the office books to cover up the loss.
If convicted, Johnson faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the false entries count and five years on the fraudulently issuing money orders count. All sentences are determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika R. Mozangue.
An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been
committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven
guilty at trial.
PRC Issues Advisory Opinion Affirming Customer Rights in U.S. Postal Service Retail Office Closing Decisions
Press Release from Postal Regulatory Commission
March 10, 2010
Washington, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission today issued an Advisory Opinion to the U.S. Postal Service in its “Station and Branch Optimization and Consolidation Initiative” in Docket N2009-1.
The Postal Service is required to seek an Advisory Opinion if its actions constitute a nationwide change in service levels. This advisory opinion responds to the Service’s 2009 request for an opinion on its Initiative to review more than 3,000 stations and branches nationwide for possible closure. The Postal Service reports that (as of February 2010) only 162 remain under review; however, the program will be applied to additional retail facilities in the coming months. Read more
USPS: How to Be Successful With Intelligent Mail Full Service
Tips From a U.S. Postal Service Expert
WASHINGTON — With more than 7 billion pieces of mail processed and $2 billion in revenue generated for the U.S. Postal Service, the Intelligent Mail Full Service program has been a success story for business mailers, too, says Thomas Day, senior vice president, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality.
According to Day, “Early adopters of Intelligent Mail Full Service have one thing in common: They worked closely with all stakeholders in their mail supply chains and developed Full Service project plans.”
To date, there are 300 business mailers participating in Intelligent Mail Full Service. According to Day, one reason is because Intelligent Mail Full Service provides mailers with “start-the-clock” information, electronic data that lets mailers know when their mailings enter the Postal Service network. Free address correction service (ACS) information is another reason.
“The publishing industry is a big fan of free ACS,” says Pritha Mehra, vice president, Business Mail Entry and Payment Technologies. “Many of them are on target to save millions of dollars a year. Considering the savings from free ACS as well as the postage discount for participating in Full Service, the return on investment can be very high.”
For mailers who are still thinking about signing on to the program, Mehra has these tips:
* Talk to colleagues who generate the mail in your organization to determine the return on investment of Full Service price discounts and free ACS.
* Work closely with your mail service providers, including equipment manufacturers and software vendors, to determine their capabilities, such as the ability to print the Intelligent Mail barcode.
* Make sure your mailing software is capable of submitting postage statements and other supporting documentation electronically through the PostalOne! system. (Mailers are encouraged to use one of three electronic options: Postal Wizard, Mail.dat or Mail.XML.)
* When developing solutions with your mail supply chain, determine how barcodes will be created. Will you use your own Mailer ID or that of the mail owner? How will you ensure uniqueness of the barcodes? (A unique barcode on each mail container, for example, enables it to be scanned for “start-the-clock” when it’s inducted into the Postal Service network. Also, a unique barcode on each piece of mail enables tracking of that piece.)
For more information about Intelligent Mail Full Service, visit ribbs.usps.gov.
Author of Postal Reform Bill Attempts to Refute That Law Created USPS Financial Plight
Bill’s Author Can’t Change the Facts: Postal ‘Reform’ Created the USPS’ Financial Plight
In a continuing effort to rewrite history, the author of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) has attempted to refute the Postal Service’s contention that the 2006 law is responsible for the Postal Service’s current financial difficulties. The law requires the USPS to place in escrow more than $5 billion per year for 10 years to pre-fund future retiree healthcare benefits.
The attempt to dismiss this burden as the cause of the USPS’ misfortune would be laughable, except that the words are those of a United States senator. Because of the power she wields, her assertions must be addressed:
The 2006 law that the senator defends has forced the Postal Service virtually into insolvency. It imposed on the Postal Service a $75 billion liability that is not borne by any other federal agency. This single requirement has created a USPS deficit of alarming size.
I am disappointed that postal management has failed to release financial records showing USPS liabilities minus this obligation. Such documents would clearly demonstrate the disastrous effect the legislation has had. Absent this obligation, the Postal Service would have experienced a cumulative surplus of $3.7 billion over the last three fiscal years, despite declining mail volume, an economy in chaos, and electronic diversion.
Furthermore, I am compelled to ask: If funding future healthcare liabilities meets sound accounting standards, why isn’t this requirement applied to all federal and private enterprises? Why doesn’t every branch of government, including Congress, pre-fund future healthcare liabilities? What is unique about the Postal Service that it should be singled out?
The PAEA was a mistake, a gross miscalculation, which provided no new revenue stream for the Postal Service, while imposing massive, artificial new costs.
It is easy to suggest that the Postal Service should offer new services in order to remain financially sound, while ignoring free-market obstacles. I challenge the law’s defenders to name one new service or product the USPS could offer that would be accepted without challenge by private-sector competitors and that would result in short-term profit for the Postal Service.
And how can the USPS be expected to fund new enterprises that would require significant start-up costs while it is saddled with a $75 billion debt? The reality is that requiring the payment of $5.6 billion annually for 10 years would bankrupt any American corporation.
It is apparent that ostriches are not alone in their ability to bury their heads in the sand.
William Burrus
President
FedEx Is Again USPS’s Largest Supplier For Seventh Straight Year
Top U.S. Postal Service Contractors for FY 2009
Washington, D.C. – Husch Blackwell Sanders’ Government Contracts Practice Group today released its list of the top 10 U.S. Postal Service suppliers for fiscal year 2009, compiled from information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. David P. Hendel, a partner in the firm whose practice focuses on postal contracting matters, has compiled the list of the top 150 postal suppliers for the past 14 years.
For the seventh straight year, FedEx is the Postal Service’s top supplier. FedEx transports Express, Priority, and First Class Mail, and earned postal revenues of $1.4 billion in fiscal 2009 – more than triple the amount of the next largest supplier. While at the top of the list, FedEx’s postal revenues declined from a high point of over $1.6 billion. Another postal competitor, United Parcel Service, is also one of the Postal Service’s top suppliers, netting $83 million in revenue and holding the 18th spot.
The second-ranked USPS supplier, Kalitta Air, LLC, earned $423 million in postal revenues. Kalitta provides air transportation and mail distribution services, a large portion of which is military mail bound for overseas. The third-ranked supplier, EnergyUnited, provides utility auditing services, therefore much of its revenues are actually pass-throughs to other utilities.
Other transportation providers in the top 10 include Wheeler Bros. Inc, which transports mail by ground, and American Airlines, which transports mail by air. American Airlines, as with the other major airlines, saw reductions in postal revenues from reduced volumes of mail.
Providers of computer equipment, services, and software are well-represented on this year’s top 10 list. Hewlett-Packard claims the number five spot with $232 million in revenues, a $70 million increase from last year. Accenture, which provides consulting and technical services on a variety of postal initiatives and helped re-design the agency’s website, ranked sixth with $164 million in revenues. Accenture had the largest growth of any contractor on the list, capturing $84 million in additional revenues. IBM Corp. moves up from the tenth to the seventh spot with $143 million in revenues.
Only one automation supplier makes the top 10 this year. Northrop Grumman, occupying the number four spot with $331 million in revenue, has been providing automation design, equipment fabrication, field deployment and logistics support to the Postal Service for almost two decades. Just three years ago, two other automation contractors — Siemens and Lockheed Martin — were the second and third ranked suppliers, respectively. This year, they rank 16th and 32nd.
“Transportation and technology providers once again stand atop the list of the Postal Service’s largest suppliers,” noted David Hendel, who has worked on postal contracting matters for the past 28 years. “With some notable exceptions, the biggest USPS suppliers earned more revenue than last year, even in a down year for the agency overall. This is consistent with the Postal Service’s desire to consolidate its purchasing among its top suppliers. While new suppliers may find the Postal Service a difficult nut to crack, once established as a postal supplier, the opportunities for obtaining additional work are easier to capture.” Opportunities for facility contractors will continue to decline, however, as the agency is unlikely to build many new facilities in a time of decreasing mail volume. But opportunities do exist for modifying existing facilities and retrofitting facilities for energy conservation purposes.
The firm’s Government Contract Practice is involved in all phases of government contracting, including bid protests, contract administration, change orders, audits, claims and disputes, and compliance programs. A special focus of this practice is providing advice to Postal Service contractors. David Hendel, the partner who leads this effort, developed two popular training courses on postal contracting, writes a monthly column on postal contracting issues for the National Star Route Mail Contractors Association, and has represented hundreds of postal contractors on a wide range of issues.
Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP is a litigation and business services law firm with approximately 625 attorneys. The firm has offices in Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and Jefferson City, Missouri; Overland Park, Kansas; Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska; Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee; Chicago and Peoria, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; Washington, D.C., and London, U.K.
Top USPS Suppliers of 2009http://www.huschblackwell.com/pdf/USPS2009.pdf
USPS and U.S. Postal Inspection Service To Mark National Consumer Protection Week March 7-13
Delivering Trust, Delivering Justice
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service join with federal, state and local government agencies and consumer protection organizations to announce the 12th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 7-13. This coordinated consumer education campaign highlights the importance of protecting privacy and steering clear of fraud and scams.
This year’s theme – Dollars & Sense: Rated “A” for All Ages – encourages individuals to exercise good consumer sense at every stage of life – from grade school to retirement.
“It’s never too early or too late to become a more informed consumer,” said Delores J. Killette, U.S. Postal Service vice president and Consumer Advocate. “This year, NCPW’s goal is to educate consumers of all ages on how they can prevent becoming a victim of fraud and scams.”
In recognition of NCPW 2010, the Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service are calling attention to free resources to help people protect their privacy and avoid identity theft and other fraud schemes. Consumers can visit www.deliveringtrust.com for free fraud education and prevention videos about identity theft, work-at-home scams, internet fraud, foreign lotteries, investment scams and more. Viewers can follow the Chief Postal Inspector and Postal Service Consumer Advocate as they walk through the top ten scams to watch for. The website also offers tips on recognizing scams and instructions on reporting scammers to the appropriate authorities.
In addition, the Postal Inspection Service offers the following tips for consumers to avoid becoming a victim of fraud:
- Know the warning signs: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Watch out for offers that apply pressure to act “right away,” guarantee success, promise unusually high returns, require an upfront investment, don’t have the look of a real business or just don’t feel right.
- Know the facts: Banks will never e-mail or call for account numbers. There are no legitimate jobs that involve re-shipping items or financial instruments from home. Foreign lotteries are illegal in the U.S. If in doubt, check the company out with the Better Business Bureau.
- Play it safe: Never click on a link inside an e-mail to visit a web site; instead, type the address in a web browser. Retain receipts, statements and packing slips, and review them for accuracy. Place outgoing mail in the secure blue collection boxes, or deposit it in collection slots on the inside of a local Post Office. Shred confidential documents instead of simply discarding them in the trash.
- Get involved: Point out “too good to be true” offers to kids and teach them to be skeptical. Take an active interest in the financial activities of aging parents, especially if they’re facing an illness that could make them more vulnerable. Share information about scams with friends and family.
“We’re out to stop fraud – and you can help,” said William R. Gilligan, Jr., Chief Postal Inspector. “Many fraudulent offers can be identified and prevented before they cause any damage. Together we can help protect our families and ourselves from these crimes.”
This week across the country, participating Post Offices will host NCPW events to raise awareness of the most common fraudulent activities and what consumers can do to protect themselves. By shining a spotlight on issues and ideas that help individuals become better consumers of products, materials and services, the Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service hope to improve their knowledge of how to combat fraud.
Other national organizers of this year’s NCPW include AARP, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Federation of America, the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the Federal Citizen’s Information Center, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, the National Consumers League and the Department of the Treasury.
For more information about NCPW, visit www.consumer.gov/ncpw.
USPS Update On Flats Sequencing System
USPS Update on FSS presented at the MTAC meeting last montn.
Download PDF file of the presentation
Congresswoman Emerson: Five-Day Postal Delivery Hurts Rural Areas
Press Release from U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (Eighth Congressional District, Missouri)
March 3, 2010
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) responded to an announcement that the U.S. Postal Service will seek to drop one day of home delivery in an effort to offset budget shortfalls. Emerson, who represents the mostly-rural Eighth Congressional District in Southern Missouri, says the reduction of delivery days would adversely affect residents of her part of the state.
“There are many, many considerations the U.S. Postal Service must take into account before making a decision about removing a day from the weekly mail delivery to American homes and businesses,” Emerson said. “Especially in rural areas, the timeliness of financial information, bills to be paid and even deliveries of medicine by mail is important. Many of our daily rural newspapers rely on six-day delivery to get their news to their customers. And I am also concerned that the postal service is focused on cutting back service and potentially losing millions of customers rather than finding long-term solutions to these budget woes.
“In an urban area where the post office is right around the corner, these issues might not be so severe, but for residents of rural areas like Southern Missouri the nearest post office might be miles away. On top of the challenges of getting to a nearby post office is the fact that many of these rural facilities are threatened with closure every year,” Emerson said.
The content of Emerson’s letter to the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission is attached:
Nowhere in the nation do Americans appreciate the regular, personal, efficient service of the U.S. Postal Service than in rural areas of the country. I am honored to represent the rural Eighth Congressional District of Missouri, and the intention to limit mail delivery to five days per week would directly and adversely affect thousands of the constituents I serve. I appreciate and understand the severity of the financial difficulties facing the U.S. Postal Service, but I remain opposed to the reduction in postal delivery for reasons I hope to explain in this letter.
First, the opportunity to walk to the corner post office is not a luxury many Americans in rural areas enjoy. The nearest postal facility where people in rural areas can rent a box or go to drop off their outgoing mail may be several miles from home. Elderly and disabled residents in these rural counties rely on the Postal Service to come to them, because they often cannot go to the Post Office.
Newspapers in rural areas, too, rely on six-day delivery to communicate the news of their communities to residents of their circulation areas. Many of these are papers of record, and many more daily papers would lose advertising revenue by being forced to drop one issue per week.
Another issue arises during inclement weather situations, which we in Southern Missouri have experienced more than once in the last year. Ice and snow do sometimes make regular postal delivery impossible. The loss of one more day in the week which would otherwise allow carriers to make up for the delay in service is a further impediment to customers with bills to mail and correspondence to send.
In addition, under certain circumstances, a day’s delay in postal services can mean a two-day delivery becomes a five-day delivery. This is especially concerning when the mail contains a supply of medicine or time-sensitive financial information. I remain very concerned about the unintended consequences of delaying delivery of certain envelopes and parcels to all of the USPS’s customers.
Finally, I am not convinced that the USPS has adequately pursued alternatives to reducing delivery to five days. Other options exist, namely, executive salary reductions, better-negotiated vehicle acquisitions for the USPS fleet, concessions from the groups representing Postal Service employees who also wish to see the USPS return to profitability, and cost-cutting measures that would further streamline postal operations.
For these reasons, the FY2010 Financial Services Appropriations bill contains language requiring the USPS to maintain six-day delivery. I would like to insist that this language be adhered to by the USPS and the Postal Commission and encourage you to reconsider this decision. It is extremely important to your customers in rural areas of the country like Southern Missouri. Thank you for your kind consideration.
Very sincerely,
JO ANN EMERSON
Member of Congress
USPS Summer Mail Sale Returns
Customer Loyalty to Be Rewarded Again in 2010
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service did something for the first time last year, and it was so successful, they’re planning to do it again: launch a summer sale.
The 2010 Summer Sale is scheduled to run July 1 through Sept. 30 and will provide a 30 percent rebate to eligible mailers on Standard Mail letters and flats volume above a predetermined threshold. The threshold will be five percent over each participating mailer’s volume for the same period in 2009. Invitations to participate in the sale will be sent to customers in early March.
“The 2010 Summer Sale is our way of rewarding our most loyal customers and demonstrates that we value their business,” said Robert F. Bernstock, president, Mailing and Shipping Services. “We expect the 2010 Summer Sale to provide as much excitement about direct mail as the sale did last year and to generate between 300 million and 1 billion new mailpieces.”
Nearly half the 960 customers enrolled in the 2009 Summer Sale increased their mailing volumes. This resulted in approximately 1 billion incremental pieces during the sale period, producing a net revenue contribution of $24 million.
“Direct mail works, and our customers know that,” said Bernstock. “That’s why we will continue to invest in programs that promote the health of our customers’ businesses as well as our own. We very much appreciate our customers’ business, and we will compete aggressively for their advertising and promotion dollars in this highly competitive marketplace.”
To be eligible to participate in the 2010 Summer Sale, a company must have mailed 350,000 or more Standard Mail letters and flats between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2009. Approximately 3,525 customers are expected to be eligible to participate in the sale, representing 67 percent of the Postal Service’s Standard Mail volume.
The 2010 Summer Sale is a component of a broader pricing strategy that creates incentives to grow and retain volume. It was one of many solutions discussed this week at a Washington, D.C.-stakeholder event in which Postmaster General and CEO John E. Potter addressed hundreds of customers, business partners, employees and the media during a presentation: Envisioning America’s Future Postal Service. At the event, Potter outlined an aggressive plan of cost cutting, increased productivity, and an array of legislative and regulatory changes necessary to maintain a viable Postal Service.
The 2010 Standard Mail Summer Sale is subject to approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission
Sen. Carper: Postal Service Needs Freedom To Make Necessary Smart Business Decisions
WASHINGTON – Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate subcommittee with oversight authority over the U.S. Postal Service, issued the following statement in support of the Postal Service’s proposals to reduce costs and streamline operations while protecting universal service:
“As Postmaster General Potter pointed out today, the Postal Service will need to make significant, strategic changes to its operations in the coming months and years in order to maintain universal service and to provide the products and services so many Americans depend on.
“In light of the serious financial challenges facing the Postal Service, Postal management must be allowed to make the business decisions they need to stay competitive and viable in the years to come. As we have seen, it is not productive for Congress to act like a 535-member board of directors and constantly second guess these necessary changes.
“The Postmaster General has already shown that by making smart decisions – like last year’s efforts to dramatically cut costs, or the popular flat rate box promotion – the Postal Service can save money and still provide valuable services. These are positive first steps but more work remains to stave off the massive deficits that are projected to bankrupt the Postal Service. Postal management, Postal workers, and consumers will need to work together to implement these common sense measures in order to ensure that the Postal Service remains viable in the 21st Century.
“As the Postal Service embarks on the tough journey ahead, it is imperative that Congress give Postal management the flexibility they need. Too often over the years, Congress has tied the Postal Service’s hands and prevented it from making the smart business decisions needed. For example, we have prevented the Postal Service from realizing the billions in savings projected from the elimination of Saturday delivery – a difficult step, but one that large majorities of postal customers have said they can accept.
“We should also use the current crisis to re-evaluate the commercial and pricing freedoms given to the Postal Service. The law in this area was last updated in 2006, but the days ahead give us another opportunity to make certain that Postal management has all of the tools it needs to respond to the changing needs of the mailing public.
“It is also my hope that today’s sobering news from Postmaster General Potter finally compels my colleagues to act on legislation I’ve introduced to restructure the Postal Service’s unique and aggressive obligation to pre-pay its future retirees health care obligations. These payments are a major reason for the red ink that has covered the Postal Service’s balance sheets.
“Congress can no longer afford to stand in the way of the important – yet difficult – business decisions that the Postal Service must now make. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to help facilitate these important changes.”