Victim speaks out after authorities say serial postal thief arrested
DAVIE - A victim is speaking out after federal authorities captured a serial postal thief who allegedly victimized at least 10 people between March and October across three South Florida cities.
The suspect was captured on camera just after 10 p.m. on October 10th at Hector Alvarez's business in the 6500 block of Griffin Road in Davie.
Alvarez told CBS News Miami that the same man stole mail from his locked mailbox on two separate nights.
Ring camera footage obtained exclusively by CBS News Miami shows the suspect looking over his shoulder while rummaging through the mailbox and taking items.
Alvarez said, "He came to my store, my beautiful store, and we do a lot of custom stuff here, and he tried to rip open the box, and he did that and he took my mail. It is a horrible thing."
"I feel offended that he broke into my mailbox. I work very hard. I didn't do that to him. Why would he do that to me? I don't do that to him. I was scared. He came here twice, and I thought he was going to come back a third time and break in. We don't want confrontation. We want peace. I am glad he was arrested. All I can say is keep your hands to yourself and don't steal mail from anyone."
"I am not sure what he took from my mailbox, but it was not right," he added.
Bryan Masmela of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service credited collaboration with local police in the arrest of the suspect, 28-year-old Marcos Antonio Nuviola-Rodriguez of Miami Gardens.
Nuviola-Rodriguez is charged with four counts of burglary in the Fort Lauderdale cases, and Masmela says he could face federal charges that carry a penalty of up to five years in prison if convicted.
The arrest was announced in a police flyer, which stated that Nuviola-Rodriguez confessed to the Fort Lauderdale crimes.
"They are looking for business checks or individual checks and also documents that help them commit identity theft. We are very glad that with the collaboration with law enforcement agencies, we were able to identify this person and get him into custody," Masmela said.
"He wasn't going to stop. Someone like this was so blatant and just committing this type of crime late at night. He isn't concerned about anyone seeing him. He wasn't going to stop until he was caught. When you take someone like this off the street who is victimizing so many people, we do get a lot of satisfaction."
"To protect your mail, we tell people they should get locking mailboxes. It makes it a lot easier for thieves to open mailboxes when they are not locked," said Masmela.
"We also tell people to get informed delivery, where they know what's coming in," he explained. "Informed delivery service is where you can get an email notifying you of what mail will be coming to your address within the next several days. Also, if you suspect your mail is stolen, report that to the local authorities or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. One number they can call is 1-877-876-2455."
"Also, nowadays cameras tell us a lot. Cameras allowed us to identify this individual. If you have mail outside the house, it is a good idea to have surveillance cameras. It is a good way to identify people who commit crimes," he added.
