For 10 years, a Postal Service employee in Texas has been stockpiling massive amounts of bulk mail in her office and home. And even though she’s now under investigation by postal inspectors, the USPS worker says she wants to keep her job. [More]
crime news
Circle K Staffer Fired For Foiling Armed Robbery
By 12.30.11
Imagine you’re working at a Circle K (or any other store of its type) when a trio of wannabe robbers enter and begin waving a gun at you. What do you do? And more importantly, are you thinking about company policy or your own safety? [More]
Couple Takes Advantage Of UPS Laziness, Steals Over 100 Packages From Doorsteps
By 12.21.11
We’ve certainly written enough pieces over the years about how some UPS, FedEx and USPS carriers would rather fling your package somewhere in the vicinity of your house rather than knock and wait to see if you’re home. Now the police in Somerville, MA, say a couple took advantage of drivers’ willingness to leave packages out in the open by swooping in to steal the deliveries right off folks’ doorsteps. [More]
Man Sentenced To Year In Prison For Leaking So-So Wolverine Movie
By 12.20.11
The New York man who pleaded guilty to uploading a nearly finished work print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine to the internet a month before it hit theaters, has been sentenced to a year behind bars in federal prison for letting the world see how mediocre the movie was before they had to pay $10 to see it at the theater. [More]
San Francisco Scammer Posing As Bank Manager To Fleece Old Women
By 12.8.11
Police in San Francisco say a seedy character has scammed elderly women, ranging from 83 to 92 years old, out of thousands of dollars by pretending to be a bank manager. [More]
Armored Car Sprinkles $200K In Cash On Pennsylvania Highway
By 12.1.11
Pennies may not actually fall from heaven (and if they did, we would advise that you not try to catch them, because… ouch) but paper money does fall out of the back of an armored car. [More]
McDonald's Customer Eats Burger, Punches Cop, While Her Car Burns Up In The Parking Lot
By 11.17.11
It’s not exactly Nero fiddling while Rome burned, but when a Mississippi woman’s car caught on fire at a McDonald’s drive-thru, she stayed and ate her food — and then got arrested for allegedly punching a police officer. [More]
Restaurant Cook Decides That Giving Sake To A 2-Year-Old Is A Good Idea
By 11.16.11
We’ve written a number of stories — like this one, or this one, or even this one — about restaurants accidentally serving booze to children. But here’s the tale of a cook at a Japanese restaurant in Ohio who was arrested because he’s alleged to have knowingly squirted some sake into the mouth of a 2-year-old diner. [More]
Man Buys Used Minivan From Thrifty Packed With $500K In Cocaine
By 11.14.11
When you buy a used car — especially one that used to be a rental vehicle — you shouldn’t be shocked to find that the previous owner may have done a bit of work that wasn’t fully disclosed. But there’s a difference between a bit of Bondo and a half million dollars of cocaine stashed in the door panels. [More]
Southwest Passenger Uses Craigslist To Track Down Stolen Laptop
By 11.3.11
This story is useful in two ways. First, as an example of how you can utilize freely available online tools to help yourself when others won’t. And second, as yet another example of why you should never, ever check your laptop on a flight. [More]
Pushing Your Way Onto A Plane Without A Ticket Is A Good Way To Get Arrested
By 10.27.11
Usually when we write about the cops being called to an airplane, it involves a ticketed passenger being forcibly removed from the jet. But in a nice change of pace, here’s the story of a man who allegedly thought he could just push his way onto a Southwest flight sans ticket. [More]
Thief Uses Woman's Credit Card To Rack Up $717 At Same Burger King
By 10.24.11
It’s not unusual for a credit card thief to charge some outlandish amount to the victim’s card, hoping to score big before setting off alarm bells. But police in Boca Raton, FL, say they are trying to hunt down a criminal who only charged about $14 at Burger King, ever day… for more than 50 days. [More]
Spa Offers Gift Certificate To Stanley Cup Rioters Who Turn Themselves In To Police
By 10.14.11
It’s been several months since the Boston Bruins swept the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup, triggering riots in the Canadian metropolis. But with a new hockey season just begun, one Vancouver spa thinks it’s time that those involved in the riots soothe their souls by fessing up to the police, and soothe their sore muscles with a massage. [More]
If You're Going To Shoplift At Walmart With Your Kids, Don't Leave Them Behind When You Flee
By 10.14.11
Kids are adorable and we suppose they could make adorable decoys if one was trying to shoplift at Walmart. But if you’re going to involve small children in your criminal activities, it’s probably not a great idea to leave them behind. [More]
Cops Leave Warnings On Unlocked Cars
By 10.12.11
Residents of Beverly, MA, who leave their car doors unlocked have been coming back to their parked vehicles to find a written scolding from local authorities attempting to cut down on crime. [More]
Another Postal Worker Caught Stealing Netflix DVDs
By 10.7.11
It’s been over five years since we first wrote about postal workers being busted for detouring Netflix DVDs into their own private stashes, and yet there are apparently still some USPS staffers out there who think they can steal more than 100 DVDs and not have it set off alarm bells. [More]
Don't Rob A Convenience Store With A Cop Standing Right Behind You
By 10.3.11
While we at Consumerist never, ever, ever condone crime. We have covered enough retail crime stories to have gleaned a few tips on what not to do. For example, if you plan on robbing a convenience store, you might want to check that a police officer is not standing a few feet behind you the entire time. [More]
Self-Described "King Of Infomercials" Found Dead In Jail Cell
By 10.3.11
If, like me, you’re not a stranger to scanning through the meager offerings on late-night TV, you will more than likely recognize TV pitchman Don Lapre, whose numerous get-rich-quick ads became so infamous he was spoofed on Saturday Night Live. They also landed Lapre in an Arizona jail on charges of, among other things, mail fraud and promotional money laundering. And this is where the 47-year-old was found yesterday morning, dead of an apparent suicide. [More]
