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Crime & Law Enforcement Issues & Death Penalty/CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR THEFTS INSIDE POSTAL PACKAGES IN THE UNITED STATES

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Expert: - 3/29/2007


Question
Hi!

I'm an Italian man resident in Italy.Could you let me know what is the criminal penalty for an U.S. postal service employee who rifles and steals inside postal packages?

                                       Thank you.
                                       Regards.
                                  LO IACONO GIULIANO  

Answer
Hello Mr. Giuliano,

   I was a county police officer which means that I investigated crime that fell under the state statutes.  In this country there are state crimes and federal crimes.  Federal crimes are crimes against the United States Government and I had no authority to investigate such matters and unfortuantely crimes against the United States Postal Service, which is part of the U.S. government, fall under the umbrella of federal crimes.  So I would have no knowledge of such crimes.

 And even if I did investigate those crimes we have a system of sentencing where the judge could sentence someone to zero days in jail all the way up to the maximum penalty depending on the severity of the crime, the past record of the defendant, remorse, age, first offense or not, where it happened, etc, etc.

  I'm sure that you have such a system in Italy.  Nice to hear from you but I am afraid that I can't help you with this one.

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

Please do NOT ask questions about potential jail sentences that you or your friends may receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer or a parole officer so questions about those subjects will be rejected. I am a police officer with 26 years experience. Can answer questions about crime, police procedure, investigations, criminal law, search and seizure, traffic offenses. Prefer not to answer questions on the death penalty. Please do not ask homework questions. Remember this. The law in every state is different so questions about laws that are specific to your state could be difficult to answer. I also cannot give you legal advice on what to do or not to do in court. I have worked with authors in the past and will be happy to review scenarios or plots with authors to check for believability or accuracy.

Experience

Police officer with 26 years experience. Ten years in patrol and sixteen years in the detective bureau investigating every type of crime including murder, rape, robbery, theft, fraud, missing persons, etc, etc. Also taught at the police academy in areas such as constitutional law, search and seizure, and lineups.

Education/Credentials
B.S. in Criminology from the University of Maryland.

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