Police bust mail theft ring, but postal crime is still widespread

Although Santa Clara police have dealt a blow to a local mail thieves' ring, the president of the postal police union said the problem is worse than most people realize.

Santa Clara police have arrested a dozen suspects in connection with a mail theft ring – a significant victory. But the arrests are only one piece of the puzzle.

Just after 4 a.m. on August 5, police responded to a call about mail theft in the 1900 block of Hillebrant Place in Santa Clara. Over the next week, a review of surveillance footage showed the suspect fleeing the scene in a black Lexus.

Working with the San Jose Police Department and the United States Postal Inspection Service, Santa Clara investigators determined that the suspect was part of a ring of mail thieves. The investigation revealed that the suspects had fraudulently rented two apartments.

On August 14, shortly after 7 a.m., police raided an apartment building at 680 Epic Way in San Jose and arrested eight suspects, according to arrest records: Glenn Nguyen, 32, Paolo Bartido, 39, Lim Vo, 30, Sean Finn, 43, Christie Entac, 33, Vu Thi, 38, and Tiffany Terada, 42.

Less than two hours later, police arrived at the second robbery, located at the Moreland Apartments, 550 Moreland Way in Santa Clara, and arrested four more suspects: Raquel Tendencia, 34, Eun Chong, 34, Melizza Hufana, 43, Ngoai Nguyen, 42, and Dary Pech, 41.

Lt. Mike Crescini of the Santa Clara Police Department said several suspects attempted to flee during the raid in San Jose, but police were able to arrest them “without incident.” Crescini declined to say whether the arrests were related to an incident at Boulevard Condominiums, writing only that the investigation is “ongoing.”

A search of the apartments revealed a cache of contraband. Investigators seized large quantities of stolen mail, post keys, a postman's uniform, post locks, narcotics packaged for sale, electronic gaming machines, body armor, notebooks containing personal information and suspected stolen property.

The allegedly stolen property included identification cards, checkbooks, passports, license plates, credit cards and other documents belonging to dozens of victims.

Expanded perspective

Matthew Norfleet, postal inspector for the San Francisco Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said thieves are more focused than ever on stealing mail. Postal worker safety remains the Postal Service's top priority, he added.

Although the arrests are a credit to local police, the problem is far from solved, Norfleet said. He urged residents to remain vigilant and report missing mail to police and postal inspectors.

“We don't believe this is the only mail theft ring operating in the Bay Area,” Norfleet said. “It's a crime of opportunity. There is no brilliant mastermind behind mail theft. This is a desperate attempt.”

In 2023, there were 6,729 reports of violent crimes against postal workers, including burglaries, robberies, assaults, and even murder, according to the 2023 U.S. Postal Inspection Service report.

The number of robberies alone, which often involve the theft of arrow keys used to open mailboxes, has skyrocketed since 2019, from 94 reported incidents to 628 in 2023. At the same time, the conviction rate for robberies has fallen from 65% in 2019 to 15% in 2023.

Reduced role

Frank Albergo, national president of the Postal Police Officers Association, said the trend was disturbing. He has worked for the postal service for 30 years and has “never seen anything like this.”

“The Bay Area is dealing with a real post-crime wave. It's getting worse,” he said.

The United States Postal Service's decision to restrict the Postal Police – a special force trained to combat mail theft – to post offices has not helped, Albergo said. While he acknowledged it was unfair to attribute the wave of mail thefts solely to the layoff of the Postal Police, he said it “obviously hasn't helped.”

Project Safe Delivery, the Postal Service's plan to combat mail theft, is “nothing but smokescreen,” Albergo said.

“The Postal Service seems to be obsessed with cutting labor costs, and it's not always done in the smartest way,” he said. “The Inspection Service has been caught flat-footed, and that's the problem. Thieves have realized it's an easy target.”

Until a federal ruling in 2020, Albergo said, the postal police had sophisticated data technology that tracked the movements of postmen, created crime maps and generally enabled preventive policing.

Postal officials were speaking with a forked tongue when they claimed that mail carrier safety was their top priority while at the same time “castrating” the postal police, he added.

balancing act

Norfleet said he could not elaborate on the limited role of the postal police, calling it an “ongoing contractual dispute.”

According to a statement from the postal service, the question of whether the role of the postal police was “legal and effective” led the postal service to “comprehensively restrict” the scope of postal police work. This was “necessary to ensure the protection of the individual.” [postal police officers] and to exempt the postal service more broadly from legal liability,” the statement said.

The United States Postal Service is using a number of strategies to curb mail theft, the statement said. The Postal Inspection Service coordinates its work with local police, participates in violent crime task forces, employs prosecutors and police officers who specialize in mail theft, sends inspectors to mail theft hot spots, and uses technology to combat cybercrime.

Anyone who discovers that mail is missing after contacting police should contact postal inspectors by phone at (877) 876-2455 or online at uspis.gov.