Source: United States Department of Justice News
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office is observing National Postal Worker Day by recognizing the men and women of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), including those with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) who investigate crimes related to the mails.
“As we all know, the men and women of the U.S. Postal Service work rain, sleet, or shine to ensure the U.S. mail system continues to function. Their work is critical and, as we have seen in our own district with the senseless murder of Irene Pressley, can also be dangerous,” said U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis. “I also want to thank our law enforcement partners within the USPS. These agents vigorously investigate crimes related to the mails – which include fraud, violence, and drug crimes – and protect the people of South Carolina and throughout the country.”
“The U.S. Postal Service serves 163.1 million addresses in the country — covering every state, city and town,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is dedicated to enforcing the laws that defend the nation’s mail system from illegal and dangerous use, persevering the integrity of the U.S. Mail, and most importantly, providing a safe environment for Postal employees and the American Public. We value our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina for supporting our mission and all the employees of the U.S. Postal Service across the country.”
Here in South Carolina, 6,798 postal employees from 415 postal facilities work hard every day to deliver letters and parcels to nearly every residence and business in South Carolina. This includes correspondence from loved ones, shipping orders, and important business documents.
As the agencies who police this system, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigates crimes relating to the mails, while the USPS OIG focuses on internal USPS cases and fraud against USPS.
In September of 2019, the U.S. Postal Service lost one of their own, Ms. Irene Pressley, 64. Ms. Pressley was brutally murdered while delivering mail on her route near Andrews. Postal Inspectors from South Carolina and all over the nation converged to Williamsburg County to investigate her murder and bring her killers to justice. The trial for the remaining defendants in that case is scheduled for October of this year.
Together, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the USPS’s law enforcement components have investigated and prosecuted numerous other crimes, including recent investigations leading to multiple arrests in armed robbery and burglary cases here in Columbia, the destruction of postal facilities, financial scams, and major drug trafficking operations.
South Carolina is safer because of the work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and USPS OIG. As America heads into its annual celebration of Independence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office especially thanks all the men and women of the U.S. Postal Service for the work they do for this country.
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