Three Bronx, New York men have been charged with stealing from U.S. Postal Service mailboxes in Guttenberg, according to Police Lt. Aleksandar Ramadanovic.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
On February 21st, detectives from the Guttenberg Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Bureau initiated an investigation related to numerous reports concerning fraudulent checks being issued and thefts from mailboxes, Ramadanovic said in a statement.
As part of this investigation, detectives identified various trends regarding the locations of the mailboxes being targeted and reviewed hundreds of hours of video surveillance footage, capturing multiple incidents of mailbox phishing.
On February 28th, detectives conducted targeted surveillance in the area of 71st Street and Park Avenue, in an attempt to further this investigation.
During their surveillance, Dets. Michael Turner, Jaber Jaber and Andres Lozano observed a four-door Mercedes Benz, matching a vehicle used in various mailbox thefts, reversing into a fire hydrant/no parking zone near 71st Street and Park Avenue.
The driver of the Mercedes Benz was then observed exiting the vehicle, leaving two occupants behind, and manipulating the USPS mailbox being surveilled.
As the result of their criminal investigation and targeted surveillance, Detectives arrested Hector L. Delacruz-Santana, 23, Juan E. Fabian-Valdez, 23, and Carlos J. Payano-Sanchez, 22, all of the Bronx, New York.
All three men were charged with four counts of theft, two counts of credit card theft, criminal attempt/theft, and five counts of conspiracy to commit theft.
Upon the completion of their arrest processing, all three defendants were issued their complaint warrants and lodged in the Hudson County Correctional Center. The investigation remains active and on going.
“I would like to take an opportunity to thank our community and its residents for their cooperation with our officers and detectives. With your assistance, detectives of our Criminal Investigations Bureau had the information necessary to pursue these defendants,” added Deputy Chief Frank Pelaez.
“The dedication our law enforcement officers showed finding our community a resolution to this criminality was exceptional and is just one example of our organization’s dedication to the residents of the Town of Guttenberg.”
If anyone has any information related to this incident, they are encouraged to contact the Guttenberg PD at 201-868-3300 or email Lt. Steven Diaz at sdiaz@guttenbergpolice.org or Det. Sgt. Marcin Rysiec at mrysiec@guttenbergpolice.org.