Postal Service employees are not only entrusted with delivering the mail — they’re also responsible for the security of arrow keys (which are used to open those iconic blue collection mailboxes and cluster box units, like those used in apartment buildings). It’s one thing for thieves to assault postal employees for their arrow keys — it’s another level of egregiousness when a postal employee willingly steals and sells them to a criminal organization. 

That’s what happened in St. Louis, MO, where our special agents worked with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to apprehend a carrier technician who sold an arrow key and stolen mail to a criminal group. The employee and her accomplices targeted checks, credit cards, and other valuables that could be altered and fraudulently used.

The ringleader and his associates used the key to break into various mail receptacles around town and openly advertised the stolen goods on an online marketplace on a popular social media app. The images they posted were brazen — huge wads of cash, piles of stolen mail, stolen checks and driver licenses, and receipts for deposited checks each worth thousands of dollars. Investigators estimated the losses stood at a whopping $1.2 million.

Our special agents and postal inspectors arrested the employee, the ringleader, and one of their clients who bought some of the loot. All three were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, unlawful use of a mail key, and possession of stolen mail. After her arrest, the employee resigned from the Postal Service and pleaded guilty along with her co-defendants.

The employee and ringleader were sentenced to one and three and a half years’ federal imprisonment respectively, and the other defendant was sentenced to time served plus five years’ supervised release. The court also ordered the defendants to pay victims back a combined total of over $62,000.

If you suspect or know of mail theft or the illegal sale of arrow keys involving Postal Service employees or contractors, please report it to our Hotline.

For further reading:

Department of Justice (via uspsoig.gov), Postal Employee Sentenced for Her Role in Conspiracy to Steal Checks from the Mail, St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for Bank Fraud Committed with Checks Stolen from the Mail

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“By working closely with our law enforcement partners, our special agents disrupted a criminal scheme that put customers, employees, and the Postal Service at risk. We will continue to pursue those who exploit the postal system for personal gain.”

– Tammy L. Hull
Inspector General, 
U.S. Postal Service