Paterson, NJ
News
Feds: Yonkers Porch Pirate, Pals Stole $600,000 In Checks From Mail In Four NJ Counties Feds: Yonkers Porch Pirate, Pals Stole $600,000 In Checks From Mail In Four NJ Counties
Feds: Yonkers Porch Pirate, Pals Stole $600,000 In Checks From Mail In Four NJ Counties A man charged with pirating Christmas packages from porches in Yonkers was part of a crew that stole, altered and cashed $600,000 in checks mailed in Passaic, Morris, Essex and Somerset counties the past 10 months, federal authorities said Friday. Claude Anthony Burnett, 23, who was captured by U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents, now faces charges that can bring way more serious consequences than package snatching. Meanwhile, victims were left trying to sort out their finances. From at least February of this year until just last month, Burnett and others fished envelopes containing chec…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Danbury, CT
Police & Fire
Woman Files Complaint After Finding Fraudulent Activity In Checking Account, Darien Police Say Woman Files Complaint After Finding Fraudulent Activity In Checking Account, Darien Police Say
Woman Files Complaint After Finding Fraudulent Activity In Checking Account, Darien Police Say A Fairfield County woman filed a complaint with police after finding fraudulent activity on her checking account. The woman told the Darien Police on Wednesday, Nov. 4, that while reviewing her business’s bank statements she observed a check that she didn’t recognize had been cashed against her account, said Sergeant James Palmieri. The check was made out to an individual with whom she was not familiar on a check number that she still had in her checkbook, Palmieri said.  The complainant reported the fraudulent activity to their bank, who instructed her to file a&n…

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by Kathy Reakes
Mount Pleasant, NY
Police & Fire
Woman At Large After Being Ordered To Pay $20K In Restitution In Hudson Valley Woman At Large After Being Ordered To Pay $20K In Restitution In Hudson Valley
Woman At Large After Being Ordered To Pay $20K In Restitution In Hudson Valley Seen her? New York State Police in the Hudson Valley issued an alert for a wanted 43-year-old woman who is wanted after passing a check with insufficient funds to pay and later going on the run after being ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution. According to police in Middletown, Caren Cavanagh was arrested after she refused to make good on checks to her landlord and employer. Following her arrest, she was ordered to pay restitution to her victims, but has gone radio silent. Police said that Cavanagh has refused to contact the court, nor has she paid restitution, leading to a warrant being…

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by Zak Failla
Kingston, NY
News
Here's How You Can Avoid Being Victim Of Mail Fishing, Police Say Here's How You Can Avoid Being Victim Of Mail Fishing, Police Say
Here's How You Can Avoid Being Victim Of Mail Fishing, Police Say Police investigators are warning area residents to be wary of “mail fishing,” which fraudsters have been using to steal items from local mailboxes with the holiday season approaching. An alert was released regarding recent instances of “mail fishing,” where thieves use a weighted object that is attached to a string or wire and is covered in a sticky substance to steal mail from USPS mailboxes. 
According to police, “‘mail fishers’ steal cash, identities, and monetary instruments. Stolen checks or money orders can be fraudulently altered and cashed at certain financial institutions.” Inves…

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by Zak Failla
Darien, CT
Police & Fire
Check Stolen From Darien Post Office Mailbox Altered, Cashed For $950, Police Say Check Stolen From Darien Post Office Mailbox Altered, Cashed For $950, Police Say
Check Stolen From Darien Post Office Mailbox Altered, Cashed For $950, Police Say Police in Darien are investigating the latest report of mail theft involving checks stolen from the Post Office. A Darien resident reported to police on Wednesday, Feb. 6 that on Jan. 13, he had placed three outgoing checks into a mailbox at the Post Office on Corbin Drive. The resident received a notification that week that an attempt to cash one of the checks had been made, but denied. A second check was altered and cashed for $950, police said, noting that the name on the cashed check was unknown to the victim. Police said that a second fraudulent charge to the victim’s account was disc…

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by Zak Failla
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
Glen Rock Resident Nearly Loses $5,800 Postal Box Check Theft Glen Rock Resident Nearly Loses $5,800 Postal Box Check Theft
Glen Rock Resident Nearly Loses $5,800 Postal Box Check Theft Another check stolen from a postal drop box almost cost a Glen Rock woman $5,800, authorities said. The victim mailed a check for $57.01 to an insurance company using the US Postal Service mailbox on West Plaza near the Source Building, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Monday. Several days later, the woman received a call telling her “there was a problem with her credit card account and providing her with her checking account number,” Ackermann said. Suspicious of the call, the woman wisely contacted her bank, the police chief said. “The bank confirmed her suspicions that the call was a s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Darien, CT
Police & Fire
$60 Check Stolen, Altered, Cashed For $2.4K, Darien Police Say $60 Check Stolen, Altered, Cashed For $2.4K, Darien Police Say
$60 Check Stolen, Altered, Cashed For $2.4K, Darien Police Say Mail theft and mailbox burglaries continue to plague Darien police and postal officials, prompting an investigation after a check was stolen and cashed. Investigators at the Darien Police Department received a report from a local resident who stated that he put an outgoing check written for $60 in the post office box outside Corbin Drive on Jan. 13. Weeks later, on Jan. 29, when he checked his bank account, the complainant said that he found the check had been cashed, but for a total of $2,398.14 to an unknown party. The latest incident continues a trend in the area involving stolen mail -…

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by Zak Failla
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn Police Do It Again: More Arrests Made In Separate Mailbox Check Thefts Fair Lawn Police Do It Again: More Arrests Made In Separate Mailbox Check Thefts
Fair Lawn Police Do It Again: More Arrests Made In Separate Mailbox Check Thefts As the amount of checks and cash reported stolen from mailboxes continues to rise, so do the number of check-theft arrests that Fair Lawn police are making. This time, Detective Brian Rypkema arrested two Paterson residents: Evelin Fernandez, 39, deposited a $2,253 check into her account after it had been mailed at the Radburn Post Office by a member of the Fair Lawn Senior Center, Sgt. Brian Metzler said. Angel Sanchez-Ramos, 25, cashed a $1,302.38 check that had been mailed at a post office box on Dorothy Street, Metzler said. Both were released after being charged with theft by deceptio…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn Detective Makes Arrests In Separate Check-Fishing Mailbox Thefts Fair Lawn Detective Makes Arrests In Separate Check-Fishing Mailbox Thefts
Fair Lawn Detective Makes Arrests In Separate Check-Fishing Mailbox Thefts Amid a rash of thefts from postal boxes throughout North Jersey, a Fair Lawn police detective arrested two women who authorities said cashed checks fished from two of them. For years, police and U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents have been flooded with reports of mail either fished from postal boxes or snatched after they were pried open. In several cases, cash was taken or checks cashed. Three months ago, a resident told police two checks mailed from a postal box outside a Plymouth Park shopping center on Saddle River Road were endorsed by a stranger. Detective Paul Donohue tracked dow…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Stamford, CT
Police & Fire
Thieves 'Fishing' From Stamford Mail Collection Boxes, Police Say Thieves 'Fishing' From Stamford Mail Collection Boxes, Police Say
Thieves 'Fishing' From Stamford Mail Collection Boxes, Police Say Stamford residents are being warned to think twice before putting utility or other checks in large U.S. post boxes due to a recent rise in thefts. So far, more than $3,000 in dozens of checks have been stolen or "fished" out of the large boxes, said Stamford Police Sgt. Steve Perrotta. "I suggest if residents are mailing important payments or sensitive mail to walk inside the Post Office and hand the items to a clerk," Perrotta said. That's because the thieves are hitting boxes in different locations, including very busy ones such as a box in front of Starbucks. "…

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by Kathy Reakes