Postal Inspection Service renews violence-prevention efforts
Filed under: postal, postal inspectors, postal news, USPS News Link
The Postal Inspection Service’s Safe and Secure Initiative continues to educate employees on avoiding violence in the workplace.
Postal Inspector Robert Diaz — the initiative’s program manager — said Inspectors will visit approximately 400 postal facilities over the next two months to address the issues of workplace violence, employee security and carrier safety.
Inspectors will hold face-to-face discussions with employees and distribute safety brochures about violence prevention. Key points include:
- Take every threat seriously and report it immediately.
- Behave in a way that promotes a positive work environment.
- Act in a professional manner, even if you’re having a bad day.
- Report all threats to management officials, your Threat Assessment Team or the Postal Inspection Service.
The Safe and Secure Initiative is a key element in the Postal Service’s zero-tolerance policy for workforce violence. Employees who feel threatened also should contact the Employee Assistance Program — which provides crisis counseling, referral and short-term counseling — at 800-327-4968 (TTY, 877-492-7341).
via USPS News Link
USPS: Beware Of Spam – Bogus Delivery E-Mails Sent To Customers
Filed under: postal, postal news, scams, usps, USPS News Link
Postal Inspectors say customers should not click on the link. Like most viruses sent by e-mail, clicking on the link will activate a virus that can steal information — such as user names, passwords and financial account information.
The e-mails, which claim to be from the Postal Service, contain fraudulent information about an attempted or intercepted package delivery. Customers receiving the e-mail are instructed to click on the link to learn when they can expect delivery.
What to do? Simply delete the message without taking any further action. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IT are working to shut down the malicious program.
USPS is instructing customers who have delivery problems or questions about this e-mail to call 800-ASK-USPS.
source: USPS News Link
Why OIG And Postal Inspectors Can’t Prosecute Postal Execs??
Filed under: oig, postal, postal inspectors, postal news, usps
Confessions of a Former Postal Station Manager – Congressional Response
by Guy Nohrenberg
Surely your boss would never falsify or engage in fraud or schemes in order to get undeserved raises and bonuses. If they did, there is section of Federal Law called Title 18, which includes criminal penalties such as fines, and imprisonment of up to 5 years. It’s enforced too! Enforced, only, however, against Letter Carriers and craft personnel. So when a Letter Carrier engages in falsification or fraud, they’re out the door.
What about Executives?
Title 18 actually pertains to Executives!
This is where the problem lies. The Office of Inspector General and the US Postal Inspection Service do not pursue prosecution against Executives. Why? Because the OIG and USPSIS report to the Executives. There is no external unprejudiced Law Enforcement group that deals with such issues within the US Postal Service.
Now, I’m not saying all Executives are bad. In every organization, however, there are a few bad apples. Some are in very powerful positions. In my over 25 years of working in the US Postal Service I can testify to the fact that I have met hundreds of hard working good honest bosses. (Whether we carriers want to admit that or not). What happens,
though to the tiny percentage of Executives who do engage in criminal falsifications, fraud, or schemes? Can you really see an OIG agent asking to investigate his boss? Not his OIG boss, but the boss he reports to in the Operations part of the US Postal Service.
Ask yourself, too, why you’ve never heard of big bosses doing time for fraud or schemes other than financial theft. Have you ever wondered why you read in the news about people in Executive positions getting away with things a hundred times worse than you’ve gotten your last Letter of Warning for?
Well, I take real issue with it. A friend of mine, today, called me. I was told of some fraudulent activity that was going on and asked what they had done about it. The friend laughed and said, “What. So I can end up like YOU?”
Recently I wrote to my congressman. You should too! It’s easy, and it’s our right to do so. I wanted to know what he was doing about possible ethical and criminal violations within the US Postal Service. You can read my letter to him here:
Well. He responded.
Visit The Letter Carrier Connection full article (PDF).
Letter Carrier’s Creative Defense Fails To Overturn Mail Theft Conviction
California letter carrier Henry Lee Monday appealed his conviction for stealing $40 from a “test letter” planted by Postal Inspectors, claiming he wasn’t going to keep the money. Here are excerpts from the case:
Henry Lee Monday appeals his conviction by a jury of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1709, which, in pertinent part, provides felony penalties for a United States Postal Service employee entrusted with mail who “steals, abstracts, or removes from any such letter, package, bag, or mail, any article or thing contained therein . . . .” Monday does not dispute the essential facts of the case, which establish that, while delivering mail as a Postal Service letter carrier, he opened a letter containing a birthday card, removed $40 in cash from the card, and used a portion of those funds to purchase snack food from a liquor store. Monday’s sole contention is that the district court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that, to convict, the government was required to prove that Monday had the specific intent permanently to deprive the owner of the money that he removed.
We conclude that the statute, in prohibiting Postal Employees from removing contents from mailed items, contains no such specific intent requirement. We therefore affirm Monday’s conviction.
BACKGROUND
A factual twist in this case is that the incriminating letter was a “test letter” placed in the mail by postal inspectors who were conducting an investigation of Monday for mail theft. At trial, Monday attempted to turn this fact to his advantage by testifying that he “knew the letter was a ‘plant’ ” but opened it “because [he] had a lot of things on [his] mind that [he] had wanted to discuss with the postal inspectors, and [he] figured at that time that they would come and arrest [him] or do what they had to do so [he] could talk to them.” He stated that he did not intend to steal the money. Had the district court instructed the jury that conviction required proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Monday “intended to permanently deprive” the Government of its money, as Monday proposed, this rather novel defense might at least have made theoretical sense. Under the instruction actually given by the court, however, the only mental element that the Government had to prove was that Monday took the money “knowing that it belonged to someone else,” a fact to which Monday had already attested.
Conclusion
Monday was properly convicted of removing money from a mailed letter in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1709. That offense does not include an element of specific intent permanently to deprive the owner of the money of its property. The district court accordingly did not err in refusing to instruct the jury on that element. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
Here is the full decision- United States of America v. Henry Lee Monday, Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. Postal Inspection Service Launches Employee Security Initiative
Based on the commitment that no employee should have to work in an atmosphere of fear or intimidation, the Postal Service has a zero-tolerance policy for workplace violence. This applies regardless of where postal employees perform their duties.
To renew this commitment to employees, USPS and the Postal Inspection Service have launched a security initiative — combining their resources to ensure that employees are aware of steps they can take to avoid becoming a victim of violence, whether on the street (Link, 4/20) or working inside a postal facility (Link, 4/1).
According to Chief Postal Inspector Guy Cottrell, the initiative targets workplace violence at all levels before it escalates to violence — a focus that has proven to be the most effective. This involves Postal Inspectors meeting face to face with employees and supervisors on a broad range of security and crime-prevention messages.
“By ensuring that low-level incidents like threatening remarks and other forms of non-physical intimidation are treated seriously, we can avoid the escalation in violence that sometimes follows,” says Cottrell, explaining that Inspectors conducting assault prevention presentations will provide brochures, emergency contact cards and other items to employees.
The Postal Service also has resources available to employees and supervisors to help them deal with problems at work and at home. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides assessment, referral, and short-term counseling. Postal employees and their families can call the EAP service center at 800-327-4968. For TTY, call 877-492-7341. The service center is available 24 hours a day.
source: USPS News Link – August 2, 2010.
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.