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$11K Stolen from East Harlem Mailbox in Latest Check Theft, NYPD Says

By Dartunorro Clark | January 16, 2017 4:58pm
 Since mid-August of last year, there have been multiple reports of checks being snatched from mailboxes.
Since mid-August of last year, there have been multiple reports of checks being snatched from mailboxes.
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DNAinfo/Mat Katz

EAST HARLEM — An on-going series of check thefts claimed yet another victim, with $11,000 in bill payments pilfered from a local mailbox, the NYPD said.

Boriken Neighborhood Health Center, a social services organization at 2265 3rd Ave., placed several checks to pay vendors in a nearby mailbox between Oct. 31 and Dec. 20, police said.

But a representative told police that vendors reported never receiving the checks. A report was filed by the organization in the 25th Precinct on Jan. 11.

A representative from the organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since mid-August of last year, multiple reports of checks being stolen from mailboxes have been filed in the 25th Precinct.

With this latest report, the stolen checks now total nearly $100,000.

In late December of last year, a 64-year-old resident mailed a check to pay bills from a mailbox on East 117th Street and Lexington Avenue around 7 a.m. Dec. 7 but, weeks later, discovered the check had been altered to $1,147 from an undisclosed amount and cashed by somebody other than the intended recipient, police said. 

That same month police arrested three mail scammers for "fishing" envelopes out of Uptown postal boxes after residents in Washington Heights and Inwood spotted several mailboxes with glue along the inside lid to trap letters as they’re placed inside. 

Check out the map below of the where thefts have been reported: