US Postal Inspection Service denies 13 Investigates' requests for details in mail thefts
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The U.S. Postal Service hasn't granted 13 Investigates any interviews this year regarding concerns of mail theft at Houston-area post offices, so ABC13's investigative team relies on public records requests for more information.
For months, 13 Investigates has asked for details about mail theft cases.
ABC13's investigation found in the past four years, the USPS Office of the Inspector General has handled 261 cases in which a USPS employee has been found culpable of mail theft in their Southern Region, which includes Texas. They tell us 18 of those cases are duplicates, leaving 243 cases where a USPS employee has been found culpable of mail theft.
RELATED: 13 Investigates uncovers hundreds of postal employees found guilty of stealing mail
13 Investigates requested the files for each one of those cases a month ago, but ABC13's investigation found getting those details is not easy.
On Monday, the USPS Office of Inspector General's public records team told ABC13 it could take another six months to get those files.
13 Investigates also sent requests for files relating to incidents at three Houston-area USPS facilities, including the North Houston Distribution Center, where viewers contacted us saying they were waiting weeks for packages earlier this year.
Those requests were flat-out rejected by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, but we know, based on our previous requests, that the OIG opened a mail theft investigation there late last year.
In its rejection letter to 13 Investigates, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service claimed that giving us those files "would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law."
13 Investigates continues to stay on top of mail issues in the Houston area.
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