Aldo Lamberti, a Wakefield father, was among three postal workers included in a Fox 25 piece that alleged the trio were smoking pot and trespassing on school property, according Lamberti’s lawsuit, filed in Middlesex Superior Court.According to the lawsuit, the WFXT employee, which it does not name, “makes the claim of illegal drug use devoid of any fact,” while adding “unsubstantiated commentary” over TV footage shot “without the permission” of Lamberti or the two other postal workers.In the lawsuit, attorney Julian Lebeck said the Fox 25 employee “furthered their negligence” when they showed the edited footage to Lamberti’s employer as part of the story.The employee “willfully misrepresented the facts and/or fictionalized the events” to boost ratings, according to the lawsuit.After the story aired, the complaint said, Lamberti lost his job and was “ostracized” in his community. The lawsuit says the story was made with “wanton disregard.”

via BostonHerald.com.

WASHINGTON, April 22 — The U.S. Postal Service issued the following news release:

Postmaster General John E. Potter told a Senate subcommittee today that while the Postal Service continues on a path of growth and cost reductions, legislative change is still needed to put the Postal Service back on the path of financial stability.

Testifying before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management* of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Potter asked for a restructuring of the payment obligation required of the Postal Service to prefund retiree health benefits and that an adjustment be allowed for the current six-day-a- week mail delivery schedule.

Read the rest of this entry »

Portland police are investigating a scheme in which a convicted burglar allegedly used information from a U.S. Postal Service employee to break into the homes of people who were on vacation, a detective said today.

The investigation is part of a wider probe involving a man and a woman who have been implicated in a series of burglaries and other crimes in Washington and Oregon.

via Portland police say they’re investigating a postal service burglary scheme | OregonLive.com.

Washington, DC – Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway today cautioned against deciding on major cuts in universal mail service until Congress considers possible changes to Postal Service funding of employee pensions and future retiree health benefits.

In remarks before the Senate postal oversight subcommittee, Goldway said, “These are two unresolved issues that could have major immediate impact on the Postal Service’s financial crisis, as well as a material effect on the five-day delivery issue.” The Commission is currently conducting extensive public proceedings to gather evidence and analyze the impact of eliminating Saturday mail service. She emphasized that no decision has been made. “This important matter requires the consideration of both the Commission and the Congress.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Postal Service’s iconic collection box symbolizes the trust Americans have in the Postal Service. Because it’s closely associated with the security and privacy of the mail, USPS has maintained tight control over who can use de-commissioned boxes for non-postal purposes.

In the past, loans to other federal agencies have been approved by the Postal Inspection Service. But now, even this exception to the rule is ending.

USPS and the Postal Inspection Service are tightening the policy. The April 22 edition of Postal Bulletin has details on the upcoming change. “It’s difficult to enforce our policy if the public sees old collection boxes in use for some other purpose,” says Chief Postal Inspector Bill Gilligan. “A clearer, more uniform policy is easier to enforce.”

The Postal Service has used its public mail collection box design since 1908. It’s part of the American landscape — a favorite, for example, of movie producers who want to include a bit of Americana on their sets.

Largely for security reasons, the Postal Service has restricted use of its blue boxes, denying dozens of requests each year for out-of-service boxes. Street collection boxes cannot be sold or loaned to the public, to businesses or to local and state governments. They must be destroyed and sold as scrap.

In rare instances, collection boxes may be loaned to other federal agencies — with prior approval from the Inspection Service. For example, a blue collection box is part of a display at the Smithsonian Museum. But the loan required a signed agreement detailing how the box is to be used, the duration of the loan and a specific audit trail.

Gilligan says he doesn’t want old collection boxes to be mistaken for the real thing. “The sight of a collection box, even if the color is changed, still signals to many Americans that it’s the receptacle for the mail,” he says. “Even when the requester has the best of intentions, once the box leaves the Postal Service, it makes it very difficult for us to control where it goes and how it’s used.”

via USPS News Link – April 22, 2010.

The USPS has posted answers to questions posed by prospective partners in its proposed “Direct Mail Solution”, which would seek an organization “to partner with the USPS to develop; host; and market a go-to-market strategy.” Full details of the proposal are here, and a Word version of the Q&A is available here.

Q 1: How does the USPS envision this new initiative to differ from what is currently offered from Amazing Mail and Click2Mail?
R 1: No such assessments have been made. The purpose of this RFI is to get information for market research and planning purposes. The USPS’ goal is to provide access to a full portfolio of nationwide services and solutions that continue to add value to the mail process and reach as many customers as possible.

Q 2: What has the USPS learned from those endeavors?
R 2: The Postal Service considers the information requested to be proprietary and confidential. Read the rest of this entry »

Baltimore, Maryland – A criminal complaint has been filed charging Postal Service employee Andrew C. Walsh, age 51, of Cockeysville, Maryland, with theft of mail. Walsh was arrested at home last night. At the time of his arrest, agents recovered approximately 450 stolen gift cards from his vehicle.

The criminal charge was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Joanne Yarbrough, Office of Investigations, U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, throughout January 2010, Postal employees at the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC), 900 East Fayette Street in Baltimore responsible for preparing mail for the first stages of mail processing, turned over numerous rifled greeting cards to the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) for investigation. These greeting cards had been torn open and in many cases their contents had been removed. From January through April 2010, rifled greeting cards were recovered almost daily, from approximately 4:30 p.m. through 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The recovered mail fluctuated between approximately 20 to 100 rifled greeting cards each night, totaling approximately 1200 victims to date.

Working with victims whose mail had been rifled and the contents stolen, investigators were able to identify gift cards which had been stolen and used. Investigators were able to connect some of those cards to Andrew Walsh, a Postal Service maintenance mechanic, who is currently an Acting Supervisor at the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center, working the 3:00 p.m to 11:30 p.m. shift, Monday through Friday.

Walsh faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for theft of mail by a postal employee. Walsh had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore today at 1:00 p.m.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Tamera L. Fine, who is prosecuting the case.

USPS Press release:

WASHINGTON — On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its green newsroom, a one-stop shop for all its environmental information. Replete with photos of its energy-saving vehicles and facilities, green products and services, and a time-lapse video of the construction of New York’s largest green roof, the Postal Service’s green newsroom is its newest, most informative site to visit on Earth Day.

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USPS Press release:

WASHINGTON — America’s national parks are the subject of stamped postal cards and a new co-branded book released today by the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.

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From WIFR Rockford IL:

Tricia Goldsmith, who worked at the post office in Eleroy.Federal authorities believe, between June of 2008 and March of last year, Goldsmith fraudulently stole over $5,000 from the United States Post Office by converting money orders, cash and stamps.If convicted, Goldsmith faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison for the charge of misappropriation of postal funds as well as a max of 5 years for the charges of fraud.

via Pearl City Woman Charged with 17 Counts of Fraud.