Joliet post office mailboxes taped off, burglary reports under investigation, say police, postal authorities

Four mailboxes outside the Joliet post office on McDonough Street have been taped off “due to vandalism” and a Jan. 20 report of burglary of those boxes is under investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, police said.

None of the outdoor mailboxes at the post office at 2000 McDonough Street were in use on Thursday because they were taped off with a sign.

The sign on each mailbox said, “Attention, due to vandalism, this box is out of service until further notice, sorry for any inconvenience.”

Customers are required to use the indoor services at the McDonough Street location or the other post office at 51 E. Clinton St.

Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English said their department responded to a report of theft of mail from the outside mailboxes on Jan. 20 but nothing was mentioned in the report about damage or vandalism.

At 1:23 a.m. on Jan. 20, officers had responded to a report of mailboxes that had been burglarized at the McDonough Street location, English said.

When officers arrived, they determined that mail had been removed from four outdoor mail drop boxes some time within the last two hours, English said.

“None of the mailboxes appeared to be forced open,” English said.

English said the incident is under investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

In a statement, Mary Johnson, a representative for U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said she can confirm their agency is “working a mail theft investigation in that area.”

“As it is an ongoing investigation, I cannot speak to the detail of the case,” Johnson said.

Johnson said if a postal customer falls victim to mail theft or identity theft as a result of mail theft, they should immediately file a report with local law enforcement, file a report with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455, and closely monitor their financial accounts and credit profiles to get ahead of any fraudulent activity. Attempts to reach victims of these thefts, based on emails received by the Herald-News either went unanswered, or the victims did not want to be identified.

This is a developing story. Please check back with The Herald-News for further updates.