By Forum Staff
Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) announced on Tuesday that the federal investigation into the rise of mail theft in Queens has officially begun.
The launching of this audit, which is being conducted by the United States Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General, comes after Meng two months ago convinced the agency to conduct the probe. It will assess the actions that the Postal Service has taken to mitigate and respond to the spike in mail theft throughout the borough. This is the first time that such a probe into Queens mail security has ever been conducted.
The Office of Inspector General is an independent entity within the Postal Service. It oversees the integrity and efficiency of the nation’s postal system, ensuring the accountability and transparency of postal operations.
“The increase in mail theft continues to plague many local residents here in Queens which is why I’m glad that this audit is now underway,” Meng said. “Hopefully, it will provide answers on how the Postal Service has handled the problem in our borough and whether more can be done to address it. I thank the Office of Inspector General for agreeing to my request for this probe and look forward to its findings.”
“Mail theft can lead to identity and financial theft, compromising personal data and disrupting essential deliveries,” said Warren Schreiber, president of the Queens Civic Congress which represents more than 100 civic and other community organizations throughout of Queens. “This crime damages trust in postal services and has long-lasting impacts on victims. I thank Congresswoman Meng for her interest in this vital issue and look forward to the audit.”
“I thank Congresswoman Meng for her work to push for this critical audit to investigate the Postal Service’s response to mail theft in Queens and the assaults against letter carriers,” said Tony Paolillo, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Flushing Branch 294 which represents postal workers throughout Queens. “I look forward to the release of the report.”
“We thank Representative Meng for her steadfast support of the men and women of the U.S. Postal Service, and her constituents,” added George Mangold, president of the New York State Association of Letter Carriers. “We hope the report brings to light the severity of this problem, plus the assaults on our carriers, along with the mail theft.”
A report on the results of the investigation is expected to be released in March.
Since 2022, Meng has urged the Postal Service to do more to combat the spike in mail theft in Queens. She sent letters to officials in July and December of that year, and this past August, she partnered with the Postal Inspection Service and police in the borough to advise area residents on how they can help prevent their mail from being stolen. The congresswoman also introduced legislation last year to strengthen the Postal Service’s ability to go after criminal organizations driving the theft of mail. Specifically, the USPS Subpoena Authority Act would strengthen USPS’ ability to crack down on criminal organizations driving mail theft through administrative subpoenas. With these subpoenas, USPS could collect more information related to the financial fraud associated with mail theft, including bank records and surveillance videos, to build mail theft cases against criminal organizations that meet prosecutorial thresholds.
