LEF FROM BRONX GO A GREENWHICH GO TEEF PEOPLE MAIL

When an alert resident saw two men allegedly taking items from her mailbox Thursday morning, it turned into something much bigger than just her missing mail, Greenwich police said.

Arresting officers said they discovered the pair in possession of 368 personal checks from over 200 victims spread out over 25 jurisdictions in Fairfield County, Westchester County, N.Y., and New York City, according to a statement by police.

The bust involving stolen mail — one of the biggest cases ever in the region — follows a pattern of thievery involving postal facilities and mail boxes that has bedeviled postal authorities as well as customers.

According to Police Capt. Robert Berry, a resident on Owenoke Way in Riverside advised Greenwich police that she had observed two subjects removing mail containing checks from her mail box. Officers got a description of their vehicle and found the alleged getaway car in the area, authorities said.

A hoard of stolen mail was found in the vehicle, police said, from numerous jurisdictions. They also found illegal drugs and marijuana, according to the arrest summary.

The two suspects charged in the alleged theft ring are Mark Anthony Claudio, 23, of Randal Avenue, the Bronx, N.Y., and Dondre R. Waugh, 27, of Bronxwood Avenue, the Bronx.

They were each charged with fraud, criminal possession of personal identification, unlawful production of a payment card, identity theft, forgery, illegal possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell.

The two men were hit with 358 counts of larceny, 358 counts of criminal attempt at identity theft and 358 counts of conspiracy at identify theft.

Greenwich police detectives are following up with the police agencies from the other jurisdictions and are also coordinating with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on the case, Berry said in a statement.

The arrestees were each held on a $250,000 appearance bond. Neither was able to post bond as of Friday afternoon.

Gangs of mail thieves have been proliferating around the region in recent months. Thieves attempt to “fish” letters out of the U.S. Postal Service’s blue boxes, or from private residences

Information from the stolen mail can be used for identity theft and bank fraud, according to law enforcement authorities. Four men were also apprehended in Riverside in late July in another case of suspected mail theft. Two men were arrested in central Greenwich in August.

Postal authorities have been fortifying mailboxes, and upgrading other security measures, in areas where mailbox thefts have occurred.

In Stamford last April, local businesses and residents around Summer Street were extensively targeted by mail thieves. Checks were stolen from the mail pile, manipulated, then cashed. The city of Hamden also experienced a rash of break-ins last year.

Mailbox break-ins have also been reported in significant numbers in southern Westchester County, N.Y., northern New Jersey and Queens, N.Y.