Postal Employee Arrested for Burning US Mail

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta today announced that Fire Marshals, working with the area U.S. Postal Inspector, assisted in the arrest of a 47-year-old US Letter Carrier and charged him with setting fire to undelivered 1st Class mail early this morning.

Firefighters responded to a call reporting smoke from an unoccupied building, 4120 Clarendon Road in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn at about 2 A.M.  After gaining entry, the responding Firefighters discovered 10 bags of undelivered mail, some of which had already been burned, and lighter fluid near the furnace in the basement.  The mail dated back as far as 2002.  Fire Marshals were immediately called in.

After interviewing the neighbors, the occupant of the building was determined to be U.S. Letter Carrier Gregory Mewborn.    The U.S. Postal Inspector located Mr. Mewborn on his mail route and instructed him to return home.  He was promptly arrested on his arrival.

Mr. Mewborn will be charged with Theft of Mail Title 18 US code 1709, a federal offense punishable by up to five years in prison.  He is currently in the custody of the U.S. Postal Service.

The private dwelling, 4120 Clarendon Road, had previously been boarded up due to an all hands fire on April 11, 2006, resulting from a car crash which ignited and involved two adjacent houses.

Press Contact: Francis X. Gribbon / Farrell Sklerov, FDNY (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny