Shomrim in the Williamsburg neighborhood of New York City alerted the New York Police Department to the location of a mail thief who had repeatedly returned to the area to steal mail. The police followed him in a car, but he jumped into the East River in the Domino Park area to escape pursuit.

The NYPD Harbor Unit was alerted and a boat was sent out, whose crew fished the man out of the water and subsequently arrested him.

Mail theft frequently plagues the Williamsburg area, with thieves using stolen master USPS keys to gain access to residential buildings and even, in one incident, the Williamsburg Post Office. To protect your mail, the United States Postal Service recommends handing mail with sensitive material enclosed within directly to a mail clerk at a post office or putting it into a designated mail slot, rather than dropping it into a public USPS collection mailbox.

The postal service also advises reporting missing mail immediately.