Greenwich Lieutenant Recognized For 'Mail Fishing' Arrests

GREENWICH, CT — A Greenwich Police shift commander was recently recognized for his role in the arrest of several suspects accused of stealing mail in town. On Friday, Lieutenant Martin O'Reilly received a letter of recognition for stopping the "mail fishing" suspects.

According to police, mail fishing involves lowering a string coated in a sticky substance into a mailbox and removing mail containing checks or personal financial information from the box.

"It's a pretty simple kind of thing," Lieutenant John Slusarz said to Patch, "and it takes just a moment to do if you have the right device."

In this particular instance, O'Reilly was working a midnight shift when he spotted the suspects traveling in a vehicle without its headlights on and pulled them over. When questioned, the suspects gave O'Reilly contradicting statements regarding why they were in the area, Slusarz said.

O'Reilly then noticed the passenger in the backseat of the vehicle had a sticky substance on his fingers and began to ask more questions. He subsequently located a mail fishing device in the vehicle and the suspects were arrested.

Last month, Greenwich Police said they were investigating a fishing incident that occurred outside 41 W Putnam Avenue and advised any resident who had placed mail inside the box that it "may not reach its final destination." It is unclear if the two incidents are related.

Police said in a Facebook post the suspects will face additional charges from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, whose primary mission is "fighting criminals who attack the nation's postal system."