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	15 Convictions in February 2024		93 Convictions in Fiscal Year 2023

CITE

    18 USC Sec. 1709                                            01/05/2009

EXPCITE

    TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
    PART I - CRIMES
    CHAPTER 83 - POSTAL SERVICE

HEAD

    Sec. 1709. Theft of mail matter by officer or employee

STATUTE

      Whoever, being a Postal Service officer or employee, embezzles
    any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or
    thing contained therein entrusted to him or which comes into his
    possession intended to be conveyed by mail, or carried or delivered
    by any carrier, messenger, agent, or other person employed in any
    department of the Postal Service, or forwarded through or delivered
    from any post office or station thereof established by authority of
    the Postmaster General or of the Postal Service; or steals,
    abstracts, or removes from any such letter, package, bag, or mail,
    any article or thing contained therein, shall be fined under this
    title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

SOURCE

    (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 780; Pub. L. 91-375, Sec.
    6(j)(19)(A), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 778; Pub. L. 103-322, title
    XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(I), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)

HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES

      Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Sec. 318 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch.
    321, Sec. 195, 35 Stat. 1125).
      The provisions of said section 318 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed.,
    were incorporated in this section and section 1703 of this title.
      The fine of "$500" was increased to "$2,000" as more
    proportionate to the imprisonment provision and to conform with
    other comparable sections. (See sections 1702 and 1708 of this
    title.)
      Changes were made in phraseology.
                                AMENDMENTS
      1994 - Pub. L. 103-322 substituted "fined under this title" for
    "fined not more than $2,000".
      1970 - Pub. L. 91-375 substituted "officer" for "postmaster" in
    section catchline, and in text substituted "Postal Service officer
    or employee" for "postmaster or Postal Service employee" and
    "entrusted" for "intrusted" and inserted "or of the Postal Service"
    after "Postmaster General".
                     EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1970 AMENDMENT
      Amendment by Pub. L. 91-375 effective within 1 year after Aug.
    12, 1970, on date established therefor by Board of Governors of
    United States Postal Service and published by it in Federal
    Register, see section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91-375, set out as an
    Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 39, Postal
    Service.