Pittsburgh postmaster facing charges released on bond; employment status unclear
Pittsburgh’s postmaster this morning declined to address charges filed against him by the Allegheny County district attorney’s office that he intimidated and threatened four subordinates in an effort to cover up his alleged illegal opening of packages containing drugs and money.
Mr. Davis joined the US Postal Service in 1997 and worked as postmaster in Toledo before being transferred to Pittsburgh and appointed acting postmaster in February 2014. His position was made permanent in August 2014, but whether he remains employed was unclear today.
Mr. Davis was arraigned at 10:10 p.m. Tuesday by District Judge Elissa M. Lang on obstructing administration of law or other government function and four counts each of intimidation of witnesses or victims, criminal coercion and official oppression.
He was released on $10,000 unsecured bond on each of five cases filed against him. Judge Lang ordered Mr. Davis to have no contact with any witnesses or victims. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 30.
While District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s office filed charges Tuesday against Mr. Davis and outlined in a detailed affidavit an alleged pattern of the postmaster terrorizing employees over the past year by threatening to kill or ruin them, it is unknown whether any federal charges will flow from an investigation that began with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Federal authorities provided no clues Tuesday about whether they planned to pursue charges. An affidavit prepared by detectives with the district attorney’s office alleged that Mr. Davis broke federal law and violated US Postal Service regulations by opening same-day delivery mail packages at various post offices, most prominently the one in East Liberty.
As postmaster, the affidavit said, Mr. Davis did not have any job duties that involved opening other people’s mail.
Pittsburgh postmaster facing charges released on bond; employment status unclear
According to court documents (sanitized version of events):
On June 29, 2015, D. Sean Baer,an agent with the Special Inquiries Division, Office of Inspector General, presented this case to Detectives with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office. Baer had conducted an investigation into allegations that Davis was opening express mail packages at various post offices throughout Allegheny County.
In the summer of 2014, [Josh] Francis, USPS manager at the Coraopolis Post Office, was working in the East Liberty Post Office. This is when he first witnessed Davis opening packages. Davis continued opening packages on a weekly basis.
Davis advised Francis that if he was ever asked about Davis opening packages that he was to deny that he saw anything. He further advised him to watch for potential drug shipments from certain states, specifically Florida, California, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Colorado and Washington.
Francis recalled Davis opening a package that contained marijuana, heroin and cocaine. To the best of his recollection this occurred in late November 2014. Francis said that Davis referred to it as, “the mother load,” Francis said that the package contained bags of coffee. These bags were then searched by Davis. The drugs were found inside of the bags of coffee.Francis was instructed by Davis to contact the Postal Inspectors.
Postal Inspector Justin Koebel arrived at the Post office. Francis said that he was asked how the package opened. Francis told Koebel to ask Davis that question. In an interview with Koebel, he told Detectives that he asked Davis this question and was told that the self-seal adhesive had opened in transit. Koebel relied on that information provided by Davis in drafting an affidavit of probable cause in support of a federal search and seizure warrant.
Following this incident, things between Francis and Davis became strained. Francis put in for a transfer out of the East Liberty Post Office and once Davis found out he confronted Francis. During this confrontation, Davis yelled, ‘You’re done. Your career is over:
Davis called Dwayne Mayo, a Transportation Supervisor, one evening on his personal cellular phone. Davis started the conversation off by complaining about another manager that wanted to be transferred. Davis then told Mayo, “I’m the most ruthless mother****** you’ll ever meet. Don’t cross me.” Davis then advised Mayo not to tell anyone about this conversation because he would deny it. Mayo felt that he was being threatened because he witnessed Davis open the large box of drugs. Mayo contacted Parker and told her that he wanted to be transferred because he was afraid of what Davis said to him and that what Davis was doing (opening packages) was not right. He told Parker, “I didn’t sign up for this.’ Mayo added that he did not know how powerful Davis really was.
| Last | First | Title | Salary/Hr. Rate* | Hire Year | Facility | City | State | Zip |
| DAVIS | DANIEL P | POSTMASTER (2) | $105,000 Yr. / or $0.00 Hr. | 1997 | PITTSBURGH PO | PITTSBURGH | PA | 15290-9998 |
You can bet he will not be back to work with these charges. Until convicted he will remain on the roles unless he makes a deal to leave. The OIG will not say a word until their investigation is complete. Once complete charges will be filed in federal court.
Power crazy man. Needs professional help in a bad way. EAP?????
Davis was in upstate NY in a number of management positions and had been downgraded and disciplined before always to rise again somewhere such as Chicago , Toledo ,and now Pittsburgh .His wife was a federal officer in the Rochester, NY Federal Bldg back then .
Could this be why no Federal , OIG ,or Postal Inspection Service involvement to date?
Something really stinks here.
Jim B.
Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. There are many qualified people in management who do not rule through bullying and tyranny, but this stains them also by being this is a systemic problem with the management mentality and culture of corruption of “move up the ladder at any cost”, or “make the numbers” (which by the way don’t matter for anything other than the PFP and justifying excess dead weight positions) which exists nationally, but especially in the Eastern Area and the corrupt, dysfunctional Harrisburg District. This irrational ,psychopathic behavior by mentally unbalanced managers is becoming the norm. The problem is stupid, incompetent people who promote these individuals and have exhibited the same behavior. In my 29 years, I have personally seen this behavior which exists in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, and have been told of Lehigh Valley having the same problems, with no satisfactory recourse. If a craft employee committed these acts, they would be fired and the Joint Statement and Zero Tolerance policy would be invoked. Where is Eastern Area VP Joshua Colin and PMG Megan Brennan on this? They should be telling the employees that this will not be tolerated by anyone at any level of the Postal Service, as is stated in the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace. Being one of the duties of the Inspection Service is security of employees, facilities and equipment, where are they, and why did the OIG hand it off to the D.A and not file mail theft charges in federal court? Is he on administrative leave instead of being fired? Let’s see if this disappears and is covered up by him being put in another office for a few months and then returned on some softball management probation like is being done in Lehigh Valley with they’re problem child.
Management people always get put on paid administrative leave while you in the craft get put on unpaid off-duty. He’ll plea to a non-felony which lets them return him to duty and they will move this douchebag to another facility and he will be promoted because that’s how USPS mismanagement rolls.
A shame we pay these dudes so little they have to commit crimes to survive ? What a crock ! Employment status unknown ? ? Ho, Ho, Ho ! !
Book em Dano!
Looks like the SOB knows someone big in HQ. Federal offenses being prosecuted at county level ? Might as well give him a promotion.
Charges need to be filed and set a example to all federal postal employees
That whatever your job title is everyone needs to be treated equally.
You open the mail is supposed to be sacred. And have the audacity to steal. And look for drugs.
I hope that charges are filed to this scumbag ;corrupt individual
Do comite a crime you do time