BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 5): Behind the Badge

DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 5): Behind the Badge:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. BADGE_180203_005.JPG: Fallen Heroes
2. BADGE_180203_025.JPG: Tools of the Trade
3. BADGE_180203_027.JPG: The Elwood P. Zap puppet had a brief career, appearing at a 1979 workshop to teach employees and business mail representatives about postal crimes. Though never widely used, Mr. Zap represents one of the inspection service's many educational initiatives.
4. BADGE_180203_042.JPG: Such a Deal Some mail order swindles involve the sale of rare or valuable items. What is the catch? The goods are not real, but your payment is.
5. BADGE_180203_043.JPG: The handwritten poem by Robert Frost is a forgery. Postal inspectors used handwriting, ink and paper analysis as evidence in a 1978 mail fraud trial, resulting in the conviction and imprisonment of the counterfeiter.
6. BADGE_180203_047.JPG: Self Improvement There is always a market for products that promise to make us look or feel better. Criminals prey on our vanity and fears.
7. BADGE_180203_051.JPG: Get Rich Quick? In cases like these, only the criminals get rich by tricking hopeful people who think they are getting something for little or nothing.
8. BADGE_180203_055.JPG: The scammers have your name, address and credit card information. All you have is a very small sewing machine. TIP: Never pay a fee or disclose credit card information to receive a sweepstakes prize. Legitimate sweepstakes must be free.
9. BADGE_180203_061.JPG: It has two speakers, but not much else. This tiny radio is probably not what you expected to receive for a prize advertised as a stereo. TIP: Read prize descriptions very carefully because mail-in contests and sweepstakes often use vague language.
10. BADGE_180203_064.JPG: Congratulations. You have won a five-piece luggage set made out of nylon and now strangers have your home address and phone number and can sell that information to other scammers. TIP: Always read the fine print. This one says "parachute" luggage.
11. BADGE_180203_070.JPG: Buyer Beware If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers prey on our good nature and greed. Beware of any sale that is a "one time special offer" or a sweepstakes that requires an entry fee. Research the offer, and do not be fooled into becoming a victim.
12. BADGE_180203_072.JPG: The Silver Screen Postal inspectors typically work in the shadows, without the fanfare of other agencies. Nicknamed "The Silent Service," the drama and intrigue of the Postal Inspection Service caught the eye of Hollywood. Since the 1930s, the service has been a subject of films, radio and television.
13. BADGE_180203_075.JPG: They are back in The Inspectors 2, this time investigating identity theft. Michael Madsen stars as a con man on a spending spree with fraudulent credit cards that he applies for through the mail. The movie props feature Madsen's character on counterfeit cards.
14. BADGE_180203_085.JPG: Analyzing Evidence Inspectors search for fingerprints, markings, fibers and traces of other materials that can help to determine what happened, how it happened and who is responsible.
15. BADGE_180203_086.JPG: Mail is Where the Money Is Mail often contains valuables, so postal carriers and vehicles have long been targets for criminals. Today, many transactions take place online, but we still rely on the mail to ship real goods. The Postal Inspection Service has protected the delivery of gold, cash, money orders, checks, gems and other treasures.
16. BADGE_180203_094.JPG: Fakes and Forgeries Stamps have value, and counterfeit postage costs the US Postal Service millions of dollars each year. Three groups fall victim to stamp fraud: the Postal Service when fraudulent postage is used on mailings, people who use counterfeit stamps as postage and philatelists who spend thousands of dollars to acquire rare stamps.
17. BADGE_180203_096.JPG: Real or Not? One of these money orders is a counterfeit. Can you tell which? Security features make counterfeits easier to spot and harder to create. The legitimate money order has a woven security thread printed with the letters "USPS". Use the light to see another feature of the real money order -- the light will help you see the watermark of Benjamin Franklin on the left side. Fakes do not have a watermark; instead, Franklin's image is visibly printed.
18. BADGE_180203_125.JPG: Faking the Money The Post Office Department began issuing money orders in 1863, as a secure alternative to mailing cash. Criminals see checks and money orders as tempting targets. They have tried stealing blank money orders from post offices, altering information and creating counterfeits. At the recommendation of the inspection service, postal officials continue to add security features that make these documents harder for criminals to exploit.
19. BADGE_180203_127.JPG: Handled with Care Unusual deliveries that have special considerations may require the skills of the Postal Inspection Service. In such circumstances, inspectors are in charge of planning and overseeing security. From originally moving the nation's gold into Fort Knox to transporting the world's larger diamonds, postal inspectors use any means -- including armored vehicles, armed guards and secure containers -- to safely deliver precious cargo.
20. BADGE_180203_129.JPG: Concentration and Convoy Containers, nicknamed Con-Cons, are used by the post office to protect valuables and registered mail during transport. These containers are sorted, tracked, and securely separated from regular mail. Only authorized postal employees can cut the seal and use a special key to open the container.
21. BADGE_180203_132.JPG: An elaborate system of decoy trains, steel doors, machine guns, and armed inspectors protected the 1936 transportation of gold to the nation's new depository at Fort Knox.
22. BADGE_180203_136.JPG: Because US currency was backed by old, moving it safely was a matter of national security. Postal inspectors helped coordinate the bullion shipments to Fort Knox using crates like this.
23. BADGE_180203_138.JPG: Postal inspectors are trained and prepared for anything. In the 1920s, the inspection service became the first law enforcement agency to use the Thompson submachine gun, or Tommy Gun.
24. BADGE_180203_145.JPG: From the moment it arrived in the US, postal inspectors protected one of the world's largest diamonds. In this 1967 photo, inspectors Ralph Espina and Leroy Kingsland prepare to escort the Lesotho diamond from JFK Airport to Harry Winston Jewelers. Espina is handcuffed to a satchel containing the 601-carat uncut diamond and Kingsland carried a Tommy gun for the mission.
25. BADGE_180203_148.JPG: Trouble on Train 13 On October 11, 1923, three bandits botched a train robbery. The DeAutremont brothers attempted to steal gold they believed to be on a railway mail car traveling through Oregon. They overestimated the amount of dynamite needed to blow open the door and the blast destroyed the car. The brothers killed four men during the robbery, recovering nothing. There was no gold on board. Postal inspectors launched a worldwide manhunt.
26. BADGE_180203_156.JPG: Postal inspectors recovered mail from the charred train car, and delivered the legible pieces to their final destinations.
27. BADGE_180203_159.JPG: This photo shows the aftermath of the explosion that destroyed train #13, killing mail clerk Elvyn Dougherty.
28. BADGE_180203_161.JPG: Highway Robbery On August 14, 1962, a police officer directed a mail truck on a Massachusetts highway to make a detour. The mail truck was carrying $1.5 million in cash and silver certificates from banks on Cape Cod to the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. The officer was a thief in disguise who led the truck to his armed accomplices. They made off with the money, leaving the postal driver and his guard tied in their truck. Three of the gunmen were indicated but not convicted because a key witness disappeared. The money has never been recovered.
29. BADGE_180203_165.JPG: This handgun belonged to Thomas Richards, one of the suspected criminals. Inspectors had strong evidence against him and he agreed to testify against his crew.
30. BADGE_180203_169.JPG: Dressed as a police officer, the perpetrator asked the driver to detour -- right into a trap. This hat and badge were part of his disguise.
31. BADGE_180203_172.JPG: In 1962, banks shipped money for deposit in bags like this. Empty sacks were all that remained after the mail truck heist.
32. BADGE_180203_174.JPG: This license plate, retained as evidence, is from a car used by the criminals in the robbery.
33. BADGE_180203_176.JPG: Many believe the three indicted gunmen were never convicted because of the sudden disappearance of the fourth. Thomas Richards (bottom right photo). Anticipated to become the prosecutor's witness, Richards mysteriously disappeared before testifying against the other suspects.
34. BADGE_180203_179.JPG: Jack-in-the-Box In 1980, postal inspectors investigated the mysterious disappearances of registered mail from commercial aircraft. The case was cracked on May 14 when a huge trunk accidentally opened as it was unloaded, revealing stowaway William DeLucia. The "jack-in-the-box thief" would emerge from his trunk mid-flight to steal mail. On this trip, he had loaded over $350,000 worth of items into empty luggage checked in by accomplices. Authorities arrested DeLucia and the two men who claimed the luggage and truck.
35. BADGE_180203_184.JPG: When the trunk popped open, DeLucia was discovered with his oxygen tank, food and a flashlight. Law enforcement officers, including postal inspectors, were called in to investigate.
36. BADGE_180203_185.JPG: At high altitudes, the cargo hold got chilly. These lined boots and several blankets kept the stowaway warm.
37. BADGE_180203_189.JPG: The mail seemingly vanished. After stealing valuables, the stowaway stashed the emptied mailbags in luggage checked in by his partners.
38. BADGE_180203_192.JPG: This airplane's cargo hold was pressurized, but the cautious jack-in-the-box thief carried this oxygen tank with him just in case.
39. BADGE_180203_198.JPG: Inspectors in the News Much of the Postal Inspection Service's work takes place outside of the spotlight, but it has its share of high profile investigations. These sensational cases bring the inspection service to the forefront. While some crimes are preventable, disasters can strike without warning, disrupting mail and lives alike. Here, too, postal inspectors are first responders, working to ensure the safety of postal employees, safeguard the mail and return service to normal as quickly as possible.
40. BADGE_180203_204.JPG: The case was closed in 2010 with the conclusion that the culprit had committed suicide in 2008. Since 2001, biohazard detection equipment monitors the air in large mail sorting facilities.
41. BADGE_180203_210.JPG: The U.S. flag was in the Brentwood postal facility in Washington, DC where four employees became ill and two died from anthrax inhalation. The chlorine dioxide used to decontaminate the building left the flag discolored.
42. BADGE_180203_216.JPG: Since the anthrax attacks of 2001, mail to federal offices in the Washington, DC area, including the National Postal Museum, is decontaminated at an irradiation facility before delivery. This process eliminates biological threats but it is expensive, slows delivery and can damage some mailed items.
43. BADGE_180203_217.JPG: Inspector Richard Domros gathered these items while part of the team responsible for the massive cleanup and decontamination effort at the Brentwood postal facility. Despite the danger, inspectors wearing HAZMAT suits regularly entered the "hot zone" to recover mail, evidence and other items.
44. BADGE_180203_220.JPG: The markings on this envelope indicate that it was screened for biohazards.
45. BADGE_180203_223.JPG: The Brentwood Postal Facility in Washington DC, shown here, and the Trenton Processing and Distribution Center at Hamilton, New Jersey, were closed for years for decontamination. Upon reopening, Brentwood was renamed the Curseen-Morris Mail Processing and Distribution Center in honor of Joseph Curseen Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr., the postal workers who died of anthrax inhalation.
46. BADGE_180203_232.JPG: Dangerous Mail
47. BADGE_180203_234.JPG: The images above show the anthrax-laced envelope and letter addressed to Senator Patrick Leahy before the paper was discovered and darkened during the decontamination process.
48. BADGE_180203_245.JPG: Explosive Delivery
49. BADGE_180203_247.JPG: A mailed cigar-box bomb like this mock-up killed a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania man and his son in 1936. It was traced to a local man with a grudge over a labor dispute. this was used during the trial to help jurors understand how the device functioned.
50. BADGE_180203_250.JPG: These handcuffs were used by Unabom Task Force members when they arrested Kaczynski in his Montana hideout on April 3, 1996. They were later presented to Postal Inspector Anthony Muljat in recognition of his work on the case. Mock-ups of the Unabomber's packaging were shared with postmasters and postal employees in the hope that they could recognize and stop a similar, deadly shipment.
51. BADGE_180203_259.JPG: Suspicious Packages
52. BADGE_180203_260.JPG: These handcuffs were used by Unabom Task Force members when they arrested Kaczynski in his Montana hideout on April 3, 1996. They were later presented to Postal Inspector Anthony Muljat in recognition of his work on the case.
53. BADGE_180203_264.JPG: A number of the postal inspectors who worked the case were at the scene of Kaczynski's arrest in April 1996. From left to right: Robin Shipman, John Burkhardt, Tom Berthiume, Brad Reeves, Gary Bridgewater and Paul Wilhelmus.
54. BADGE_180203_275.JPG: Brand new equipment like this vacuum and amplifier, still with its tag, were gutted to conceal drugs before being shipped.
55. BADGE_180203_276.JPG: Criminals lined this speaker with insulation in an attempt to mask the scent of their illegal shipment.
56. BADGE_180203_280.JPG: The artwork is just dressing on this shallow wooden box designated to hide illegal substances.
57. BADGE_180203_284.JPG: This aerosol can, from the 1990s, looks innocent enough, but drug traffickers emptied it and created a false bottom to conceal vials of cocaine.
58. BADGE_180203_287.JPG: Operation Bogart
59. BADGE_180203_288.JPG: New printing technologies have made high quality art reproductions possible. Inspectors seized reproductions of work by Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso. The criminals forged print numbers and signatures and sold them as limited-edition works for thousands of dollars.
60. BADGE_180203_293.JPG: Homework Helps
61. BADGE_180203_294.JPG: Paying it Upwards
62. BADGE_180203_301.JPG: Invest with Care
63. BADGE_180203_302.JPG: Faith and Fraud
64. BADGE_180203_306.JPG: Check It Out
65. BADGE_180203_308.JPG: Clues and Ashes
66. BADGE_180203_318.JPG: The charred door from the safe barely survived the blaze. Upon close examination, postal inspectors noticed scratches left by the tools used to force it open.
67. BADGE_180203_324.JPG: The stolen equipment marked this money order with the date (June 18, 1997) and ZIP code (22509 -- Loretto, Virginia) that linked it to the crime.
68. BADGE_180203_325.JPG: First Priority
69. BADGE_180203_329.JPG: The 2007 tornado that hit Greensburg, Kansas, left this fragment of a collection box, with a shard of wood driven through the metal.
70. BADGE_180203_334.JPG: Mail is Where the Money Is
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Description of Subject Matter: Behind the Badge
June 27, 2014 – Indefinitely
Level 1: Mail in America Galleries
Explore the work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service. Examine the inspection service’s history, work through some of its most famous and remarkable cases, learn how the service helps protect you, and discover tips to guard against scams and fraud.
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