Wilmette Post Office’s mailboxes removed after tampering

Like its Winnetka counterpart, the Wilmette Post Office was also struck by a mail bandit this holiday season. 

A U.S. Postal Service dropbox in front of the post office, 1241 Central Ave., was pried open and found empty on Sunday, Dec. 26, according to a report from the Wilmette Police Department. 

Later that week, a similar incident occurred in Winnetka. On Tuesday, Dec. 28, two USPS mailboxes and a Village of Winnetka bill dropbox behind the Winnetka Post Office were burglarized. 

Wilmette Cmdr. Michael Robinson said it is unclear what, if anything, was inside the mailbox in Wilmete before it was tampered with, and the incident is being investigated by USPS Inspection Services.

The signature blue USPS mailboxes usually curbside in front of the Wilmette Post Office have been removed from public use for the time being.

Robinson said that anyone who used the post office’s mailbox around Dec. 26 should check to see if their mail made it to its destination, and the department has not recently taken a report from a resident regarding stolen or altered mail.

Stolen mail from USPS offices has plagued Chicagoland in the past year. Reports have been filed in Lombard in October, Park Ridge in November, Lincolnwood in early December, and Wilmette and Winnetka in late December.

In related reports, a New Trier Township employee reported to police on Dec. 21 that a mailed check from September was stolen, altered and cashed in the amount of $1,900, according to a Winnetka police report.

Another Winnetka police report from Dec. 6 details a mailed check in November was altered and cashed for $3,260.

Winnetka police urged anyone who mailed a check using those boxes between Dec. 26 and 28 to contact their financial institution to stop payment.

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