FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service appeared in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Tuesday after authorities busted him stealing mail during a surveillance operation, court documents state.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Joey Pierre-Toussaint would later admit to selling it “on the street” — but not before he crashed his personal vehicle into a tree trying to flee investigators in Pompano Beach on Monday.
The complaint, authored by Special Agent Kevin Adams, who works for the USPS Office of the Inspector General, states that the investigation began in June after Tropical Financial Credit Union reported that debit cards mailed to customers were stolen and fraudulently used.
Those debit cards were destined for customers in the 33063 zip code, which covers most of Margate and a small portion of Coconut Creek.
Adams wrote that investigators zeroed in on Pierre-Toussaint, 31, after determining the probable delivery dates of the stolen cards; they began surveilling him on July 29. USPS officials said he worked at a facility in Pompano Beach at the time of his arrest.
Unbeknownst to Pierre-Toussaint, investigators had set up hidden cameras in his mail truck, authorities said.
