{"id":39786,"date":"2026-07-10T09:42:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T14:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/?p=39786"},"modified":"2026-07-10T09:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T14:42:26","slug":"three-nyc-residents-arrested-in-large-scale-mail-theft-scheme-targeting-u-s-postal-service-collection-boxes-in-suffolk-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/2026\/07\/10\/three-nyc-residents-arrested-in-large-scale-mail-theft-scheme-targeting-u-s-postal-service-collection-boxes-in-suffolk-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Three NYC Residents Arrested in Large-Scale Mail Theft Scheme Targeting U.S. Postal Service Collection Boxes in Suffolk County"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trio Allegedly Used Makeshift \u201cFishing\u201d Device to Steal More Than 6,750 Checks<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.)<\/strong> \u2013 7\/7\/26 – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Nicholas Delvillar, 32, of the Bronx, Franklin Mercedes, 27, of the Bronx, and Jhosua Peralta, 24, of Queens, were arrested for Grand Larceny for allegedly stealing checks from United States Postal Service (USPS) collection boxes throughout Suffolk County.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese defendants allegedly used a \u2018fishing\u2019 device to steal checks, money orders, gift cards, and more from mail in United States Postal Service blue collection boxes. To protect your mail, we urge all Suffolk County residents to use the letter slots inside your local Post Office,\u201d said\u00a0District Attorney Tierney<\/strong>. \u201cI thank our law enforcement partners in the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Suffolk County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Suffolk County Police Department, the New York Police Department, and the United States Secret Service who collaborated in this investigation. We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who target our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe charges against these three individuals highlight the U.S. Postal Inspection Service\u2019s commitment to protecting the nation\u2019s mail system from those who seek to exploit it for their personal gain,\u201d said\u00a0Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service\u2019s New York Division Ketty Larco-Ward<\/strong>. \u201cThis significant investigation targeted the U.S. Mail, a trusted institution, as a gateway for financial fraud. Postal Inspectors utilize every tool at their disposal, including cutting-edge technology to uncover these schemes and strong collaborations with fellow law enforcement partners, to fully investigate these crimes. Protecting USPS customers is an essential goal; we encourage the public to report any suspicious activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting our nation\u2019s financial infrastructure is an important mission for the U.S. Secret Service and we will relentlessly pursue those who seek to defraud or undermine the integrity of that system. Crimes like this have real consequences and hurt unsuspecting victims by defrauding them of their hard-earned money,\u201d said\u00a0Resident Agent in Charge Steven Choma, of the U.S. Secret Service\u2019s Long Island Resident Office<\/strong>. \u201cThe Secret Service\u00a0stands with our partner agencies in combatting fraud schemes that affect the entire Long Island community. I am proud of our partnership with the United States Postal Inspection Service, Suffolk County District Attorney\u2019s Office, Suffolk County Police Department, the Suffolk County Sheriff\u2019s Office and the New York Police Department, and I thank them for their commitment to bringing justice in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMail theft is not only a crime, it undermines the trust people place in a system they rely on every day,\u201d said\u00a0Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThis investigation is a testament to what can be accomplished when law enforcement agencies work together to protect our communities from organized criminal activity. I commend all of the investigators and partners for their collaboration to hold these criminals accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not tolerate criminals coming into Suffolk County to victimize our community members,\u201d said\u00a0Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina<\/strong>. \u201cThis trio stole thousands of checks from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes as part of a scheme to profit from stolen mail. Through our law enforcement collaboration, we disrupted this operation and prevented additional victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the investigation, on June 3, 2026, the defendants allegedly traveled to Suffolk County from the Bronx to steal mail from numerous USPS collection boxes from locations in Melville, Huntington Station, East Northport, Commack, Smithtown, St. James, Nesconset, Hauppauge, Centereach, Holbrook, Bohemia, Farmingville, Brentwood, Medford, Patchogue, Blue Point, Bayport, Sayville, West Sayville, and Oakdale. The defendants allegedly used a makeshift \u201cfishing\u201d device by attaching a sticky glue trap to the end of a belt. The device used by the defendants allegedly extracted mail that contained checks, money orders, gift cards, and other items of value. The defendants then allegedly attempted to sell many of the stolen checks on a social media platform.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement executed search warrants at the defendants\u2019 residences which allegedly resulted in the seizure of more than 6,750 stolen checks totaling $4.8 million, a loaded 9mm firearm, and United States currency.<\/p>\n

On June 5, 2026, Delvillar and Peralta were each arraigned before District Court Judge John B. Zollo for Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a Class D felony, and Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony. Both charges are considered non-bail eligible under current New York State law. Judge Zollo ordered that both Delvillar and Peralta be placed on supervised release with GPS monitoring conditions during the pendency of the case.<\/p>\n

On June 10, 2026, Mercedes was arraigned before District Court Judge Evan Zuckerman for Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a Class D felony, and Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony. Judge Zuckerman ordered Mercedes placed on supervised release with GPS monitoring conditions during the pendency of the case.<\/p>\n

Delvillar is due back in court on July 23, 2026, and faces up to 3 1\/2 to 7 years in prison if convicted of the top count. He is being represented by Sean Dixon, Esq.<\/p>\n

Peralta is due back in court on July 14, 2026, and faces up to 2 1\/3 to 7 years in prison if convicted of the top count. He is being represented by Steven Metcalf, Esq.<\/p>\n

Mercedes is due back in court on July 20, 2026, and faces up to 2 1\/3 to 7 years in prison if convicted of the top count. He is being represented by Barry Weinstein, Esq.<\/p>\n

The theft of mail for the purpose of obtaining checks and other items of value is an ongoing nationwide problem. If you see mail theft occur, or if you believe your mail was stolen, call the police immediately, and also call Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455.<\/p>\n

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sacks of the Financial Crimes Bureau. The investigation was conducted by District Attorney Investigator Joseph J. Tobia Jr. of the Suffolk County District Attorney\u2019s Office, with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Suffolk County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Suffolk County Police Department, the United States Secret Service, and the New York Police Department.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.<\/h5>\n

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Trio Allegedly Used Makeshift \u201cFishing\u201d Device to Steal More Than 6,750 Checks (SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) \u2013 7\/7\/26 – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Nicholas Delvillar, 32, of the Bronx, Franklin Mercedes, 27, of the Bronx, and Jhosua Peralta, 24, of Queens, were arrested for Grand Larceny for allegedly stealing checks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,72,89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking","category-theftandfraud","category-postal-crime","last_archivepost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39788,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39786\/revisions\/39788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}