The inhabitants of Wauwatosa have little confidence in the post office after the theft of mail

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The return of stolen letters and checks may take some time

Wauwatosa Post Office(Photo: Submitted)

WAUWATOSA – Criminal charges last week over a wave of mail theft by postal workers in Wauwatosa have shaken the confidence of residents of this once-trusted public institution.

"Soon after my baby was born, the family gifts never came here, they stole my baby, which really annoyed me," said Wauwatosa's mother, Stéphanie Gabryel, who had been a victim. .

Criminal charges were laid last week against a 20-year-old Milwaukee former US employee accused of searching thousands of greeting cards and letters from residents of Wauwatosa to steal money and her four children .

A federal official revealed that federal charges could be laid against two other employees in Wauwatosa and one in Milwaukee.

Last summer, residents of Wauwatosa complained to the postal service that they were not receiving any graduation, marriage, birthday and sympathy cards in postal codes 53213 and 53226.

RELATED: Postal worker admits to stealing more than 6,000 greeting cards full of cash and checks from Wauwatosa

Ms. Gabryel stated that her young family was no longer receiving valuable mail at her home in Wauwatosa, in the east of the country. Instead, cards and valuable letters are delivered to her workplace in Franklin, where she has confidence in the suburban community's postal station to handle the delivery safely.

She claims a $ 100 gift for her newborn and the cards for her husband's birthday cards never arrived in her Wauwatosa mailbox, shaking her confidence in this branch of the postal service.

I have arrived

Nancy Robjohns said she is unlikely to send money or checks for bills or gifts again. Robjohns said that she had sent a letter containing 40 dollars in cash and a greeting card. Nor made to its intended destinations.

"I will never send checks or money again by mail," Robjohns said. "Thieves look especially for greeting cards with some thickness, indicating that something is inside," Robjohns said.

"For my husband's birthday, my family has sent gift cards and checks that have never arrived," Gabryel said.

Mail worker Ebony Lavonne Smith, 20, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty to stealing or receiving stolen mail on September 12 for the theft of more than 6,000 greeting cards full of cash and checks in Wauwatosa. The conviction will take place at a later date.

Recovered from scrap

On July 24, the postal service recovers a large amount of mail found in a car in a scrap yard. 6,625 first class greeting card envelopes and 540 personal checks, some in their greeting card with envelopes and 45 unopened greeting cards, were recovered.

Jeff Arney, deputy special agent in charge and information officer for the local office of the Great Lakes region of the Office of the Inspector General of the United States. stated that when stolen recovered mail is no longer required for criminal prosecution, it will be sent to the Wauwatosa branch for eventual return to shippers or delivery to the originally scheduled mailboxes. Arney said many of the mail pieces are in poor condition.

The type of mail theft at the Wauwatosa branch is rare and the public should not lose confidence, he said.

"These are mainly the crimes of opportunity committed by workers who are in the moments of their lives where they need financial assistance," Arney said.

Mail bandits

Last summer, residents of Wauwatosa complained to the postal service that they were not receiving any graduation, marriage, birthday and sympathy cards in postal codes 53213 and 53226.

Additional federal criminal cases are under way against three other former postal workers, Arney said

Two of them had worked at the Wauwatosa branch and another at the Milwaukee mail processing center, he said. A figure on the stolen amount is not available, said Arney.

According to the electronic court files:

Smith, identified as the postman in these areas, was taken into custody by taking a letter containing a greeting card and a $ 20 bill. Inside the envelope was a transmitter that signaled its opening.

Captured on surveillance

During his surveillance, a postal supervisor saw Smith search through trays assigned to other delivery routes. Smith removed the greeting cards, placing them in his tray. Smith picked up the mail for his delivery route, including the blue test envelope, and brought it to his postal vehicle.

Smith arrived at the greeting card address and the transmitter turned on, signaling that the envelope had been opened. The postal agents then approached Smith and found the envelope open, which no longer contained the $ 20 bill.

Smith was allowed to pick up his purse and return the $ 20 bill, which was in the side pocket of his purse.

Postal authorities found 31 greeting cards from postal customers in a postal binder on Smith's vehicle. Officers also collected 23 greeting cards and a Starbucks gift card from Smith's postal vehicle.

Smith told the authorities that she had stolen money from greeting cards one to two days a week to pay her bills and take care of her four children.