$50K reward offered for information in robbery of U.S. postal worker in Norwood

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A $50,000 reward is being offered by the United States Postal Service for information leading to the arrest of the suspect who robbed a postal carrier at gunpoint in Norwood on Jan. 19, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

It happened around 3 p.m. on Delaware Avenue.

An unidentified suspect robbed the USPS letter carrier at gunpoint and took the letter carrier’s postal keys.

The letter carrier was not physically injured, the spokesperson says.

Norwood police responded with postal inspectors to canvass the area.

The investigation is in its early stages, according to the spokesperson.

USPIS is asking anyone who saw the incident or who has information to contact the service at 877-876-2455.

A postal worker was robbed of an arrow key in Covington last August. In October, mail carriers were robbed in Mt. Auburn and Green Township.

Frank Albergo, the national president of the Postal Police Officers Association, told FOX19 mail theft and check fraud is reaching epidemic proportions.

“I think criminals are starting to realize what an easy crime this is,” Albergo said. “There aren’t many arrests made. Postal police officers are no longer patrolling these hot spots where this is taking place.”

Albergo noted in 2020, the postal service essentially defunded its own uniformed police force in the midst of a mail theft epidemic. Although the PPOs still exist, they’re confined to postal facilities.

“We still travel from one post office to another post office, but in that line of travel, if we see mail theft in progress or we see a letter carrier being robbed, we’re told to drive away, call 911 and do nothing,” he explained. “We’re federal police officers and we’re being told by the postal service to do nothing. That’s sick.”

Albergo claimed there are currently more postal inspectors than postal police officers.

“Imagine a police force that has more detectives than uniformed cops,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

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