Milwaukee postal theft ring charged; crew called themselves the 'Scamily'
MILWAUKEE - More than a dozen suspects are charged in a string of postal robberies. The plot leads prosecutors to believe it is a criminal enterprise of robbery, stealing mail, washing checks and laundering money. Court documents say the crew called themselves the "Scamily."
Nearly a year ago, Milwaukee police raided a home near Wright and Buffum. Inside, court filings say they found nearly 1,000 checks totaling more than $500,000. Also located were mailbox keys, chemicals and checks in the process of being "washed," guns, cash and items with "Scamily" on them.
"Postal workers have generally been targeted, almost feels like for the last couple years, for this type of crime to occur," said Nick Heitman, Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
Eight men were named back in May. Some were charged in state and federal court.
"As the investigation progressed, new facts were uncovered," Heitman said.
That included more alleged crimes as recently as this past November.
On Wednesday, Jan. 3, prosecutors charged those same eight men along with six others. They face a total of 77 counts relating to robbery, mail theft, forgery, money laundering, racketeering and continuing a criminal enterprise. At the top of the "Scamily" was Huria Abu.
The accused (11 of 14 pictured)
The new charges include a rarely used statute – part of the Wisconsin Organized Crime Control Act – which requires the Wisconsin Department of Justice to sign off.
"It’s certainly rare, but certainly appropriate when you see a situation as the allegations are here that there’s a lot of interconnected, organized criminal conduct," Heitman said.
Five of the men have pending federal cases – Huria Abu, Jessie Cook, Hussein Haji, Darrion Allisson and Abdi Abdi. Some of the men are in federal or county custody – others are not.
Just one investigation into the continued targeting of postal carriers has led the United States Parcel Service to install thousands of high-security collection boxes in 2023 – including in Milwaukee.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is not commenting on the newly-filed state charges. It is unclear when the defendant will make their first appearances on the new charges.