Lakewood has seen a rash of mail theft in the past few months, and an individual arrested Tuesday afternoon may be one of those responsible. Additionally, YWN has learned exclusively that the NYPD has been contacted and the investigation is expanding to NYC.

According to police sources, a resident witnessed an individual going through his mailbox. Upon being confronted, the man fled, with the resident giving chase. A Lakewood Police Officer who happened to be passing by, witnessed the foot pursuit, and apprehended the man.

The suspect, an Israeli man, initially gave officers a bogus story about why he was going through the persons mail, but shortly after, a vehicle was found with the motor running – with huge bags of mail inside, including loads of New York mail.

Lakewood Police contact the United States Postal Police, and the Feds are currently interrogtaing the man. If charged, the suspect will likely face a long prison sentence.

People in Lakewood have been reporting for quite some time that mail from their homes was disappearing, and checks were being cashed.

YWN reported a story in January of 2011, about many Shuls in NYC which were being robbed of their mail, and scammed out of “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in checks. At the time, YWN reported that the feds had expanded their investigation after checks ranging from $5 to $18,000 were reported stolen from Shuls in Queens, Brooklyn,  New Jersey and Michigan. NYS Assemblyman Dov Hikind had told the media that the stolen checks were deposited into check-cashing accounts as far-flung as Israel before being transferred into banks not affiliated with the synagogues. Hikind said he has received copies of $385,000 in cashed checks, which had stamps from check-cashing places on the back.

YWN has exclusivley learned that the Lakewood Police Department, as well as the United States Postal Police have reached out to the NYPD, and are looking into the possiblitly that today’s arrest may be connected to the ongoing investigation.

(Eli Gefen – YWN)