Public Safety
Mailboxes new anti-theft Darien Post Office

Three More Thefts Reported from Mid-January at Darien Post Office Deposit Box

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Police have received three more reports of checks altered after they were stolen in mid-January from the outdoor deposit mailboxes outside Darien Post Office. More than $4,300 was stolen in these latest incidents. Police have received several other reports of checks being stolen after they were mailed from the same location. As they have in New York City, mailboxes have been replaced with a new type that is supposed to make it harder for thieves to “fish” from using strings and glue. Similar incidents have happened in other towns in the area and in the New York City metropolian region.

Public Safety
New Mailboxes anti-theft Darien Post Office

New Deposit Mailboxes Outside Darien Post Office, Two More Previous Thefts Reported

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Two more thefts of mailed checks in mid-January have been reported to Darien police, but in the meantime, the mailboxes recently damaged from a later incident have been replaced with a type considered much less likely to have mail stolen from it. The two new mailboxes have thinner slots to accept mail, and there’s no door to open or piece that sticks out toward a car at the drive-up spot. Otherwise, they look like ordinary Post Office deposit boxes. The mailboxes were installed late last week. Similar mailboxes are replacing the older models in New York City, where thefts have been occurring from them.

Public Safety
Carlos Artiles mug shot 8-21-91

Police: Three Men Arrested With 61 Items of Stolen Mail at 3 AM Near Post Office

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A total of 61 items of stolen mail were found on three men stopped in a car at about 3 a.m., Thursday by a police officer near the Darien Post Office, police said. All three were arrested. Police also found that the mailbox outside the Post Office had been forcibly opened and entered. Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

The officer was patrolling the area around Corbin Drive and was on “heightened alert” because of recent thefts of mail from the box outside the Post Office. So when a black Toyota Corolla with New Jersey license plates drove extremely slowly on Corbin Drive, then stop suddenly near the marked police car and put its blinker on the officer viewed that behavior as especially suspicious and conducted a motor vehicle stop.

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Darien Police SUV Pointed Right

More Reports of Mail Stolen After Being Dropped Off Outdoors at Post Office

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Mailing checks from the outdoor mailbox at Darien Post Office got expensive for several more people over the past two weeks — a total of almost $18,000 was stolen when the checks were altered and cashed, police said. Darien police received four more complaints of mail stolen after it was put in the mailbox outside the Post Office on Corbin Drive, downtown. Several thefts of checks mailed from the same box have been reported to police, starting in October. A total of $17,938.86 was stolen. Police gave these further details for each theft:

— A check to Aquarion for $100 was altered to $998.33.  It was mailed in the afternoon on Sunday, Jan.

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Police

Darien Police Issue Statement on Recent Post Office Mail Box Thefts

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Darien Police Department on Thursday afternoon issued this statement to town residents thinking of mailing items, especially checks, from outdoor mailboxes, including the ones outside Darien and Noroton Heights Post Offices. Police are trying to get the Post Office to install theft-deterrent mailboxes, the announcement said. As for what you can do to help avoid getting victimized, police say town residents should “take steps to safeguard their outgoing mail.” Here’s the announcement:

The Darien Police Department continues to receive complaints in regards to articles of outgoing mail being stolen from inside United State Post Office depositories. From the stolen mail, any outgoing checks are removed and altered.

Public Safety
Police

Check Mailing Roulette: Two More Reports of Checks Stolen from Outdoor Post Office Mailbox

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Apparently mail is still being stolen from the outdoor mailbox at Darien Post Office on Corbin Drive: Twice last week, Darien police received reports from people telling them the checks they mailed from that spot had been altered for higher amounts and cashed. Darien police provided this information on each case:

On Sunday, Jan. 13, one victim mailed a check for $275, but on Thursday, Jan. 17, the victim noticed a check had been cashed against the account for $4,300. The image of the check showed that not only had the amount been altered, but also the recipient.