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Try entering fewer or broader search terms.</p> </div> </div> </header> <a class="report-fab" href="https://www.uspis.gov/report/" aria-label="Report a Crime"> <i class="uspis-icon uspis-icon-report" aria-hidden="true"></i> <span class="label" aria-hidden="true">Report a Crime</span> </a> <main id="main" class="site_container"> <article class="about inspectors" id="page-602"> <section class="hero "> <div class="foreground"> <div class="content"> <h1 data-eyebrow="History"> Our <em>mission</em> began at the birth of our nation. </h1> </div> </div> <div class="background desktop_image parallax" style="background-image: url(https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/01_2560x1440-Hero-History.png)"> </div> <div class="background mobile_image" style="background-image: url(https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/01_750x1334-Hero-History-Mobile.png)"></div>  <menu class="share fixed"> <a class="share-trigger" tabindex="-1" aria-label="Share this page"><i class="uspis-icon uspis-icon-share"></i></a> <div class="wrap" role="menu"> <a href="#/facebook.com" role="menuitem" aria-label="Share this page on Facebook" title="Share this page on Facebook"> <i class="uspis-icon uspis-icon-social-facebook"></i> </a> <a href="#/twitter.com" role="menuitem" aria-label="Share this page on Twitter" title="Share this page on Twitter"> <i class="uspis-icon uspis-icon-social-twitter"></i> </a> <a href="#/copy" role="menuitem" aria-label="Copy a link to this page" title="Copy a link to this page"> <i class="uspis-icon uspis-icon-social-link"></i> </a> <a href="/subscribe" role="menuitem" onclick="goToSubscribe()"> <svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="envelope" class="svg-inline--fa fa-envelope fa-w-16" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 512 512" style=" width: 35%; height: auto; margin: 0 auto; display: block; "><path fill="currentColor" d="M502.3 190.8c3.9-3.1 9.7-.2 9.7 4.7V400c0 26.5-21.5 48-48 48H48c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48V195.6c0-5 5.7-7.8 9.7-4.7 22.4 17.4 52.1 39.5 154.1 113.6 21.1 15.4 56.7 47.8 92.2 47.6 35.7.3 72-32.8 92.3-47.6 102-74.1 131.6-96.3 154-113.7zM256 320c23.2.4 56.6-29.2 73.4-41.4 132.7-96.3 142.8-104.7 173.4-128.7 5.8-4.5 9.2-11.5 9.2-18.9v-19c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48H48C21.5 64 0 85.5 0 112v19c0 7.4 3.4 14.3 9.2 18.9 30.6 23.9 40.7 32.4 173.4 128.7 16.8 12.2 50.2 41.8 73.4 41.4z"></path></svg> </a> </div> </menu> <script> function goToSubscribe() { window.location.href = '/subscribe'; } </script></section> <section class="postal_inpector_video" style=""> <div class="content"> <div class="article-content"> <h3>Happy 248th Birthday, U.S. Postal Inspection Service</h3> </div> <figure class="video"> <figcaption class="video-info"> <span class="video-title">U.S. Postal Inspection Service 248th Birthday</span> <p class="video-description">Our mission began at the birth of the nation. As America's oldest federal law enforcement agency, we're celebrating 248 years of protecting the U.S. mail, the U.S. Postal Service, and its customers and employees.</p> </figcaption> <div class="video-embed"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9k3u3tKO60s?rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen title="U.S. Postal Inspection Service 248th Birthday"></iframe> <a class="transcript-link" href="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/USPIS-248-Birthday-.txt" target="_blank">U.S. Postal Inspection Service 248th Birthday Transcript</a> </div> </figure> </div> </section><section class="postal_inpector_video" style=""> <div class="content"> <div class="article-content"> <h3>Happy 247th Birthday, U.S. Postal Inspection Service</h3> </div> <figure class="video"> <figcaption class="video-info"> <span class="video-title">Happy 247th Birthday, U.S. Postal Inspection Service</span> <p class="video-description"> This first week of August marks our 247th birthday! And to celebrate, our Chief Postal Inspector is taking you on a narrated tour of the rich and important history of the United States Postal Inspection Service. </p> </figcaption> <div class="video-embed"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aYHeE_cHFgU?rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen title="Happy 247th Birthday, U.S. Postal Inspection Service"></iframe> <a class="transcript-link" href="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Happy-247th-Birthday.txt" target="_blank">Happy 247th Birthday, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Transcript</a> </div> </figure> </div> </section><section class="postal_inpector_video" style=""> <div class="content"> <div class="article-content"> <h3>A Guided Tour of U.S. Postal Inspection Service History</h3> </div> <figure class="video"> <figcaption class="video-info"> <span class="video-title">A Guided Tour of U.S. Postal Inspection Service History</span> <p class="video-description">We are taking you on a tour of our exhibit at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC and reviewing our rich and important history.</p> </figcaption> <div class="video-embed"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A0rXi2o3uVU?rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen title="A Guided Tour of U.S. Postal Inspection Service History"></iframe> <a class="transcript-link" href="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/USPIS-BDay.txt" target="_blank">A Guided Tour of U.S. Postal Inspection Service History Transcript</a> </div> </figure> </div> </section><section class="postal_inpector_video" style=""> <div class="content"> <div class="article-content"> <h3>History of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service</h3> </div> <figure class="video"> <figcaption class="video-info"> <span class="video-title">History of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service</span> <p class="video-description"><BR></p> </figcaption> <div class="video-embed"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nfCUuIsnFBQ?rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen title="History of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service"></iframe> <a class="transcript-link" href="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/History-of-U.S.-Postal-Inspection-Service.txt" target="_blank">History of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Transcript</a> </div> </figure> </div> </section><section class="history "> <div class="interaction_container"> <a class="compliance-link" href="https://www.uspis.gov/about/history-of-uspis?basic_content">Click to go to the text version of the page</a> <a class="menu-toggle open" href="#/nav" aria-label="See the Full Timeline Menu">Full Timeline</a> <div class="menu"> <a class="menu-toggle close" href="#/nav" 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class="year"aria-hidden="true">1737</span><p>Benjamin Franklin is appointed as the first Postmaster of Philadelphia with the task of “regulating the several post offices and bringing the offices to account.”</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1772"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1772"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1772</span><p>Under the colonial postal system, Postmaster General™ Benjamin Franklin creates the new position of “Surveyor” to handle regulating Post Offices™ and auditing postal accounts. Surveyors become the first Postal Inspectors, and are also required to investigate thefts of mail or postal funds, often by a rider, innkeeper, or other person entrusted with the US Mail<sup>®</sup>.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1775"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1775"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/03-315x282-1775.png" alt="Portrait of William Goddard"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1775</span><p>William Goddard is named as the nation’s first Surveyor, the forerunner of the position of Postal Inspector, of the new American postal service. August 7, 1775, the earliest recorded date of his service under the Second Continental Congress, is established as the birth date of the United States Postal Inspection Service.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1792"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1792"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1792</span><p>Congress imposes the death penalty for stealing mail.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1793"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1793"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/04-315x282-1793.png" alt="Noah Webster"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1793</span><p>Noah Webster, who would later publish the famous “Webster’s Dictionary,” is recruited by Postmaster General™ Timothy Pickering to investigate a string of mail thefts between New York City and Hartford, CT.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1801"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1801"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1801</span><p>Title of Surveyor is changed to Special Agent.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1812"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1812"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/05-315x282-1812.png" alt="Painting depicting War of 1812"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1812</span><p>Special Agents observe and report on movements of the British fleet on the Potomac River during the War of 1812.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1830"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1830"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1830</span><p>A separate Office of Instructions and Mail Depredations is formed to be the investigative and inspection branch of the Post Office Department. By 1830, laws and regulations were enacted by Congress which made certain violations against the United States Postal System federal crimes.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1830_2"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1830"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/06-315x282-1830.png" alt="Photo of Preston S. Loughborough"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1830</span><p>Preston S. Loughborough is placed in charge of a new branch which was the predecessor to the Office of the Chief Postal Inspector.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1852"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1852"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1852</span><p>When checks and cash begin disappearing from the Chicago mail, Allan Pinkerton is appointed Post Office Special Agent to solve the crime and arrest the thieves. Years later, he forms the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1861"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1861"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1861</span><p>Post Office Special Agents supervise the transportation and delivery of mail to Union troops during the Civil War.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1872"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1872"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/1872-mail-fraud-snake-oil.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1872</span><p>Congress enacts the Mail Fraud Statute to combat a post-Civil War outbreak of scams and swindles using the mail.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1873"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1873"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/07-315x282-1873.png" alt="Photo of Special Agent Anthony Comstock"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1873</span><p>The Postal Obscenity Statute is enacted by Congress, based on the urging of Special Agent Anthony Comstock.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1880"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1880"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1880</span><p>Congress strengthens the Mail Fraud Statute to protect citizens from bogus offers in the mail.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1880_2"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1880"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1880</span><p>Special Agents become known as Post Office Inspectors after a law is passed by Congress. The change is to differentiate the federal postal agents from the multitude of other “special agents” employed by railway and stagecoach companies.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1881"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1881"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/billy-the-kid.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1881</span><p>Post Office Inspectors interview “Billy the Kid” in connection with a mail robbery in Santa Fe, NM.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1909"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1909"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/08-315x282-1909.png" alt="Poster for the “Black Hand”"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1909</span><p>Post Office Inspectors investigate the “Black Hand,” a secret society of criminals who extort money from Italian immigrants by sending them threatening letters. Fourteen members are arrested and convicted.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1916"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1916"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/1916-last-stagecoach-robbery-uspis.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1916</span><p>The last known robbery of a horse-drawn mail stage in the U.S. is investigated and solved by Post Office Inspectors. The bandits, who stole $3,000 from the mail and murdered the driver, were arrested within five days of the crime.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1920"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1920"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/09-315x282-1920-1.png" alt="Thompson Machine Gun"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1920</span><p>Postal Inspectors become the first federal law enforcement officers to carry the Thompson submachine gun — the Tommy gun — to combat the rash of mail train robberies.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1920_2"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1920"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/10-315x282-1920-2.png" alt="Charles Ponzi"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1920</span><p>Charles Ponzi, the father of the illegal pyramid scheme, is investigated by Inspectors, who help convict him.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1921"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1921"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/11-315x282-1921.png" alt="Wanted Posters for Gerald Chapman and Dutch Anderson"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1921</span><p>Gerald Chapman and Dutch Anderson, who became the first “Public Enemy #1,” rob a U.S. Mail<sup>®</sup> truck in New York City. They made off with over $2 million, making it the largest U.S. robbery of the time. Inspectors captured the two robbers.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1923"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1923"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-10-09-02.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1923</span><p>Three brothers, Roy, Ray, and Hugh, violently rob a mail train in Tunnel 13 on the Southern Pacific Railroad in southern Oregon and flee into the Siskiyou Mountains. Their use of explosives and inexperience in train robberies led to the deaths of a postal clerk and three railway personnel. What followed was one of the largest and most expensive manhunts in U.S. history.<br /> <a class="arrow_cta " style="color: #FFFFFF;" href="https://www.uspis.gov/history-spotlight/the-last-great-american-train-robbery-of-the-west" aria-label="Learn More">LEARN MORE</a></p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1926"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1926"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/12-315x282-1926.png" alt="Newspaper article with D’Autremont brothers"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1926</span><p>Post Office Inspectors successfully conclude a three and half year, worldwide manhunt for three train bandits known as the D’Autremont brothers. The brothers killed four men and blew up a mail car, which they thought was carrying half a million dollars in gold.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1936"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1936"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/1936-alvin-karpis-wanted-uspis.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1936</span><p>“Public Enemy #1” Alvin Karpis is arrested by Inspectors and local police for the spectacular machine-gun holdup of an Erie Railroad mail train at Garrettsville, OH.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1937"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1937"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/13-315x282-1937.png" alt="Gold being transferred to Fort Knox"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1937</span><p>When the nation’s $15.5 billion gold reserve is transferred from New York to Fort Knox, Post Office Inspectors plan the movement and protection of the bullion, which was sent by Registered mail<sup>®</sup>. The transfer required 500 rail cars, took several years and was completed without a mishap.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1939"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1939"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1939</span><p>With more than 600 Post Office Inspectors on the rolls, a separate Bureau of the Chief Inspector is established with three investigative branches: Mail, Financial, and Administrative Investigations.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1940"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1940"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/robert-moon-mr-zip-uspis.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1940</span><p>Post Office Inspector Robert Aurand Moon, sometimes known as “Mr. ZIP,” develops the idea for the Zone Improvement Program – the ZIP Code™. It is implemented in 1964.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1940_2"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1940"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/14-315x282-1940.png" alt="USPIS forensic laboratories from 1940s"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1940</span><p>The first of five Postal Inspection Service forensic laboratories is established in Washington, D.C.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1941"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1941"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/14-315x282-1941.png" alt="USPIS forensic laboratories from 1940s"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1941</span><p>Post Office Inspectors organized the mail system for the military during World War II. The system is so efficient that even frontline troops expect mail delivery as normal procedure.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1946"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1946"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1946</span><p>Recognizing the natural link between forensic technology and law enforcement, the number of Crime Laboratories grows to five to better support investigations.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1954"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1954"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1954-batch.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1954</span><p>Post Office Inspectors are retitled “Postal Inspectors” to reflect their relationship to all phases of the postal services and the U. S. Mail<sup>®</sup>, instead of only to Post Offices™.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1958"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1958"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/16-315x282-1958.png" alt="Hope Diamond"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1958</span><p>Owners of the Hope Diamond send the priceless jewel to the Smithsonian Institution by U.S. Mail<sup>®</sup>. Postal Inspectors ensured the gem arrived safely at its destination.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1963"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1963"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/17-315x282-1963.png" alt="Photo of Lee Harvey Oswald"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1963</span><p>Postal Inspector Harry Holmes interviews Lee Harvey Oswald about the mail order rifle used to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Minutes later, Oswald is gunned down by Jack Ruby.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1970"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1970"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/19-315x282-1970.png" alt="Postal Police Officer badge"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1970</span><p>With the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 (effective 1971), a uniformed security force, now called the Postal Police, is added to assist in carrying out the Inspection Service’s mission.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1971"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1971"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/19-315x282-1971.png" alt="Bulletin cover with photo of first female USPIS agent"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1971</span><p>The Postal Inspection Service becomes one of the first federal law enforcement agencies to hire female agents.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1972"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1972"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/1972-Clifford-Irving-Howard-Hughes-uspis.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1972</span><p>Postal Inspectors and Postal Inspection Service forensic scientists prove that a handwritten note giving Clifford Irving exclusive rights to write Howard Hughes’ biography was a fraud.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1984"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1984"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1984</span><p>The passage of the Child Protection Act gives Postal Inspectors additional powers to focus on child pornography distributors and their customers. Since 1984, Postal Inspectors have arrested thousands of child molesters and pornographers.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1986"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1986"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1986</span><p>“Operation Looking Glass,” a sting operation targeting child pornography, results in over 100 arrests.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1987"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1987"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1987</span><p>Postal Inspectors arrest Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken as part of a widespread insider trading case on Wall Street.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1989"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1989"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/20-315x282-1989.png" alt="Jim Bakker being arrested by Postal Inspectors"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1989</span><p>Postal Inspectors arrest televangelist Jim Bakker, co-founder of the Praise the Lord (PTL) Club, for mail fraud after he scammed believers out of $178 million. He is sentenced to 45 years in prison.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1990"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1990"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Carlos-Acosta.jpg" alt=""></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1990</span><p>A suspect fleeing from the scene of the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City shot Postal Police Officer Carlos Acosta. Although wounded, PPO Acosta returned fire and successfully prevented the suspect’s escape. PPO Acosta recovered from his wounds; the suspect was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1991"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1991"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/21-315x282-1991.png" alt="Fraudulent art print"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1991</span><p>The Postal Inspection Service breaks up a worldwide art-fraud ring that marketed bogus paintings purported to be by such renowned artists as Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Pablo Picasso.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1996"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1996"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/22-315x282-1996.png" alt="Postal Inspectors involved with the “Unabomber” case"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1996</span><p>Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, is arrested after one of the largest and most extensive manhunts in modern history. The Postal Inspection Service’s 17-year investigation into the bombings was essential to solving the case and capturing Kaczynski.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="1998"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="1998"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/23-315x282-1998.png" alt="Showtime Network’s “The Inspectors”"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">1998</span><p>Showtime Network airs “The Inspectors,” the first movie about the Postal Inspection Service since the 1951 classic, “Appointment With Danger.” The movie is based on the 1991 Chugiak, Alaska, mail bombing.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="2001"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="2001"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">2001</span><p>“Operation Avalanche,” a coordinated strike between the Postal Inspection Service and 30 other federally funded task forces, results in the arrest of 100 child pornographers and molesters who used the mail and the Internet to exploit children.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="2001_2"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="2001"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/24-315x282-2001.png" alt="Suspicious mail containing anthrax"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">2001</span><p>Four anthrax-laden letters result in the deaths of two postal employees and three citizens. After a nine-year investigation with the FBI, a suspect was identified but committed suicide before charges were brought.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="2012"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="2012"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">2012</span><p>Allen Stanford is sentenced to 110 years in prison for masterminding a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. For twenty years, Stanford lured investors to buy certificates of deposit in his offshore Stanford International Bank with the promise of high returns. The investigation by Postal Inspectors into the mailings led to his arrest and the end of the scam.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="2014"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="2014"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/25-315x282-2014.png" alt="The Smithsonian Institution’s USPIS exhibit"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">2014</span><p>The Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum opens a new exhibit, Behind the Badge, which spotlights the work of the Postal Inspection Service.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="2015"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="2015"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/26-315x282-2015.png" alt="CBS’ “The Inspectors”"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">2015</span><p>CBS network premieres “The Inspectors,” a half-hour drama series on Saturday mornings. In its first season, the show captures the Daytime Emmy for Best Actor.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="2017"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="2017"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">2017</span><p>An investigation by Postal Inspectors and the Department of Justice leads to Western Union and MoneyGram agreeing to return almost $600 million to people victimized by money transfers to fraudulent foreign lottery, sweepstakes, online dating, and advance fee scams.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="2017_2"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="2017"><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">2017</span><p>In the Fall of 2017, a package bomber in the San Francisco Bay Area sent two bombs that made it to the recipients and exploded, injuring two individuals. Postal Inspectors played a key role in apprehending the bombers.</p> </figcaption></figure></div><div class="scene "><a class="anchor" id="2018"></a><figure class="content" data-decoration="2018"><div class="image" role="presentation"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/27-315x282-2018.png" alt="Mail bombs from 2018"></div><figcaption><span class="year"aria-hidden="true">2018</span><p>In the Fall of 2018, 16 mail bombs were identified and recovered by postal employees and law enforcement officers. The bombs were addressed to high profile political targets in Congress, the media, and entertainment industry. Postal Inspectors played a key role in apprehending the bombers.</p> </figcaption></figure></div></div> </section><section class="page_end has-background" style=""> <a class="anchor" id="page_end"></a> <div class="content"> <h2>Honoring their valor</h2> <p>We remember the service and sacrifice of those who lost their lives in the line of duty.</p> <a data-cta-title="See More | Honoring their valor" href="https://www.uspis.gov/about/history-of-uspis/fallen-personnel/" class="button-clear " aria-label="See More About Fallen Personnel">See More</a> </div> <div class="background desktop_image" style="background-image: url('https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/29_2560x1440-BG-Fallen.png')"></div> <div class="background mobile_image" style="background-image: url('https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/29_750x1334-BG-Fallen-Mobile.png')"></div> </section> </article> </main> <footer class="footer" id="keel"> <div class="site-branding"> <a href="https://www.uspis.gov/" class="custom-logo-link " rel="home" itemprop="url"><img src="https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/themes/uspis/images/logo.svg" class="custom-logo" alt="United States Postal Inspection Service" itemprop="logo"></a> <span class="site-title">United States Postal Inspection Service</span> </div> <div class="wrap menus"> <nav id="nav_menu-2" class="menu widget_nav_menu"><span class="hidden">Footer Level 1</span><div class="menu-footer-level-1-container"><ul id="menu-footer-level-1" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-12643" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-12643"><a href="https://www.uspis.gov/careers">Careers</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1341" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1341"><a href="https://www.uspis.gov/press-kit">Press Kit</a></li> <li id="menu-item-8108" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-8108"><a href="https://www.uspis.gov/medios-de-comunicacion-espanol">Medios de Comunicación - 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