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Washington, DC (USPS Press release)- Santa isn’t the only one who will be working Christmas Eve.

The U.S. Postal Service will deliver Express Mail on Dec. 24 and 25, helping families and customers across the country keep the “happy” in the holidays.

The Postal Service expects to deliver 20 billion letters, packages and cards between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the busiest mailing day expected to be Monday, Dec. 18, when more than 280 million cards and letters will be processed - more than twice the average processed on any given day. Total mail volume on Dec. 18 is projected to rise to 900 million pieces of mail, increased from 670 million pieces on an average day.

About 100 million First-Class letters are processed daily. That number increases to about 150 million a day during the holidays. About 12 million packages will be delivered every day through Christmas Eve. The busiest delivery day will be Wednesday, Dec. 20.

“We work hard every day to make sure we meet the needs of our customers. But we take the extra step, meet the additional challenge, during the holidays,” said Pat Donahoe, deputy postmaster general and chief operating officer. “Our commitment to our customers remains strong. We have a goal ahead of us that we are going to meet.”

And meeting that challenge will take the coordinated efforts of 700,000 full-time and seasonal workers; a National Operations Center coordinating mail flow and delivery around the clock, seven days a week; expanding air cargo lifts by 60 percent; increasing the number of direct ground routes between major metro networks; and fueling, loading and driving more than 210,000 vehicles.

In addition to the national logistics of moving and delivering all this mail, the Postal Service will have extended hours at more than 7,400 Post Offices. Customers can purchase stamps online or at more than 75,000 alternate access points, including banks, grocery stores, drug stores and at Post Offices. National call center operators are ready to answer questions on hours and services. Customers can call 1-800-ASK-USPS for information.

And there are 2,500 Automated Postal Centers (APCs) in Post Office lobbies across the country. Just as an ATM is a virtual bank, the APC is a virtual, stand-alone Post Office. The APC does everything short of face-to-face transactions - dispensing stamps, weighing packages and calculating postage for Express Mail, Priority Mail, First-Class Mail and Parcel Post items.

“APCs make visiting a Post Office easier,” Donahoe said. “It’s one more way we’re trying to save customers time waiting in line and offering another alternative to meet their mailing needs.”

And, like Santa Claus, the Post Office is everywhere, with 37,000 locations across the country and on every computer and laptop in America at USPS.com. Almost anything that can be done at a Post Office can be done online at a time that is convenient for the customer.

Ship a package, purchase stamps, hold mail, request a free package pickup, find a ZIP Code and design and print greeting cards. There are more than two dozen services available through the Postal Service’s website. This year, a special page was created as a single destination for all holiday needs: USPS.com/holiday.

More than 4 billion seasonal stamps were printed this year. The official holiday stamp is a series of four photographs of snowflakes.

“The ways Americans celebrate the holidays are as varied as snowflakes. No two are exactly alike. Snow crystals often show many flat, crystalline surfaces, or facets. Bright reflections off these mirror-like facets give freshly fallen snow its sparkle,” Donahoe said. “That’s our goal for this holiday season as well. Making Your Holidays Sparkle.”

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The USPS has issued the following media advisory:

The U.S. Postal Service will deliver 20 billion cards, letters and packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. But that’s only part of the Postal Service holiday story. Online services. Solutions for holiday shopping, shipping and mailing needs. Post Offices decked out in the season’s finest. Employees ready to help make the holidays sparkle. The Postal Service kicks off the season with a press conference — outside — and shows off the 2006 holiday stamp.

When:
Tuesday, Nov. 28
10 a.m.  

Where:
National Postal Museum
Massachusetts Ave. and First Street NE
Entrance closest to Union Station
Washington, DC

Who:
Pat Donahoe, deputy postmaster general and COO
Susan Plonkey, vice president, customer service
University of Maryland Brass Ensemble

Story lines:
What it Takes: How the Postal Service will deliver 20 billion pieces of mail and make the holidays hassle free for its customers. Donahoe will lay out the plan.

Log On and Step Inside a Post Office: This year, the Post Office comes to you. Postal Ambassadors in uniform will demonstrate USPS’ online suite of services. Reporters will learn how to request a free package pickup and build, address and mail holiday greeting cards.

Shipping Tips: Learn from the pros how to avoid holiday shipping and packing mishaps.

B-Roll:
DVD of package volume, mail being processed, slates of packing tips

Audio:
Brass Quintet
Live demonstration soundbites

WASHINGTON – The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service will meet in Washington, DC, at Postal Service Headquarters, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, on Dec. 5-6, 2006. The public is welcome to observe the board’s open session, scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 6 in the Ben Franklin Room on the 11th floor. The Board is expected to discuss the following items:

1. Minutes of the previous meeting, Nov. 14-15, 2006.
2. Remarks of Postmaster General and CEO John E. Potter.
3. Committee reports.
4. Consideration of the Postal Service Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report (Chairman James Miller).
5. Consideration of Final Fiscal Year 2008 Appropriation Request (Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President H. Glen Walker).
6. Capital Investment”: Flats Sequencing System – Phase I Program (Engineering Vice President Walt O’Tormey).
7. Tentative Agenda for the Jan. 9-10, 2007, meeting in Washington, D.C.

If the removal of some mailboxes is going to be the “Top News” on a major television station’s newscast, I suppose you have to punch up the story a little- but why a gun?

Mailboxes Become Casualty Of Internet Age 

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Department of Justice Press Release: 

SAN FRANCISCO – United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan announced that Janet Ortega was indicted on charges of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service by submitting and approving fake invoices for over $60,000 in medical services that were never performed. Ms. Ortega, 44, of Daly City, California, was charged with seven counts of mail fraud on November 14, 2006.

According to the indictment, Ms. Ortega – while employed as a contract nurse for the Postal Service – created fictitious invoices for services allegedly performed by a physician named Dr. John De Leon. In fact, the indictment alleges, Dr. De Leon never existed. The indictment charges that Ms. Ortega submitted these false invoices to the Postal Service and then used her authority to authorize payments for these alleged services, knowing that the services were never performed. In all, Ms. Ortega obtained more than $60,000 from the scheme.

The maximum statutory penalty for each count of bank fraud in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1341 is 20 years and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

An indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Ms. Ortega must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Stacey Geis is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Legal Technician Ana Guerra. The prosecution is the result of a one year investigation by the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.