8 hours ago
Postal keys stolen from post office in Upper St. Clair, officials say
Since February, criminals have targeted postal workers three times in western Pennsylvania.
The latest incident took place in Upper St. Clair last week, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says, for the most part, the criminals are looking to steal postal keys to get into collection boxes.
In his 30 years as a mailman, Ted Lee has felt great integrity in his job, so it hurts him to learn about recent attacks on his colleagues.
"For something like this to happen, it's almost like a betrayal," Lee said.
Now president of the western Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers, he said his members are filled with angst.
"We're doing things to help the community," Lee said. "The last thing that anybody should be doing is targeting a letter carrier."
Dave Gealey, U.S. postal inspector team lead for the Pittsburgh area, said last Friday in the late afternoon, a man somehow got into the back of the Upper St. Clair Post Office, showed a gun to an employee, and stole postal keys before running away.
"He did not take any customers' mail or packages," Gealey said.
Just two days earlier, a mail carrier was treated for a minor injury at the hospital after an attempted robbery in Bridgeville. In February, another was robbed at gunpoint in Homewood, with the suspect stealing packages.
"We want to keep our carriers safe so they can go home to their families at the end of the day," Gealey said.
Gealey said they're actively investigating these incidents with local law enforcement. Incidents like these started to increase after the COVID-19 pandemic and led the inspection and postal services to create Project Safe Delivery in May 2023.
"To basically harden our assets and protect our letter carriers, and the mail from being stolen," Gealey said.
Part of that has included the installation of new high-security collection boxes, with electronic keys and locks, making the keys that criminals are trying to steal useless.
Now, across the country for the past two years, carrier robberies are down more than 30 percent, but those who do commit one can face up to 10 years in federal prison or up to 25 if they injure a worker.
"We want it to be known that we're going to find you, we're going to track you down, and hold you accountable," Gealey said.
"The public relies on us. Let the letter carriers do their rounds without disturbing," Lee said.
If you have any information about the incident, call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 or your local police department.
