ALTAMONT — It all started from a phone call. A neighbor noticed that cars were coming and picking up packages that had been delivered to a house that was vacant and for sale. The neighbor called the Altamont Police.

Police got the call on Nov. 17, investigated for about a day, and then, on Nov. 19, arrested Billie W. Johnson of 1144 Irene Street, Schenectady. He was charged with two felonies — criminal possession of stolen property exceeding $3,000, and first-degree identity theft (assuming others’ identities to obtain goods greater than $2,000) — and a misdemeanor, fifth-degree conspiracy. Additional charges are still pending further investigation.

Police had to move in fast, said Christopher Laurenzo of the Altamont Police, because “these rings get spooked pretty easily. They already had started changing the package deliveries to a different county,” but, he said, police officers were able to intercept the ones that were in Johnson’s vehicle, which amounted to a total value of $6,592.61.

The police seized the merchandise and also impounded his car, a Volkswagen Passat. Johnson was arraigned and remanded to Albany County’s jail in lieu of $20,000 bond.
Johnson is believed to have gained access to Social Security card numbers of various homeowners who were in the process of selling their homes and who had already moved out. He is believed to have made credit cards under their names, then ordered electronics and clothing with the cards and had them sent to those homeowners’ addresses.    

According to Laurenzo, Johnson would track the packages online and then go pick them up once they had been delivered.

Laurenzo noted that Johnson was an employee of the United States Postal Service and said that information about the case has been turned over to postal inspectors, who will decide whether to bring any federal charges.

Johnson signed a waiver of consent to search his car, Laurenzo said, where police found a number of addresses on packages and shipping receipts. Police also found, he said, a list of addresses, with tracking numbers, from throughout the Capital Region. They have since shared this information with other local law enforcement agencies including the State Police and the Guilderland Police.

Laurenzo said that State Police had since recovered other packages from a home in Clifton Park, and that Guilderland Police had since arrested another suspect on related charges.