CRIME ALERT: La Verne Post Office Struck by Tax Day Theft

The United State Postal Inspection has issued a Crime Alert regarding mail theft that occurred at the La Verne Main Post Office from the drive-up blue collection boxes. On or about the night of Wednesday, April 14, 2010, or early Thursday, April 15, 2010, the drive-up collection box in front of the post office was burglarized. It is believed some customers’ mail may have been stolen during the commission of this crime.

April 15 is Tax Day, the day on which income tax returns (statements about income taxes) are due to the federal and state.

If you believe you may have used this box to drop off mail during this time, please contact the recipients of that mail to ensure it arrived at its intended destination safely. It is unknown at this time how much mail may have been stolen. If your mail did not arrive at the intended destination, you are encouraged to submit a Mail Theft and Vandalism Complaint at http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov, or by calling 1-877-876-2455, option 3.

Anyone who may have seen this crime or has information about it is urged to contact Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455 and select option 2.

Anyone noticing suspicious activity around mailboxes, including loitering or suspicious persons approaching a mailbox, should not approach the individual. Instead, note the physical description of the individual(s) and/or vehicle. Postal Inspectors encourage the public to report a crime-in-progress by first contacting the local police, followed by a call to the United States Postal Inspection Service 24-hour National Law Enforcement Communication Center at 1-877-876-2455 and selecting option 2. Postal Inspectors are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

A reward of up to $10,000 is available for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons involved in mail theft. Mail theft is a federal crime and offenders may be imprisoned up to five years, or fined, or both.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies in the country. For more than 200 years, Postal Inspectors have protected the U.S. Postal Service,, secured the nation’s mail system and endured public trust in the mail.