§ 1708. — Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter generally.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC1708]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 83--POSTAL SERVICE
Sec. 1708. Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter generally
Whoever steals, takes, or abstracts, or by fraud or deception
obtains, or attempts so to obtain, from or out of any mail, post office,
or station thereof, letter box, mail receptacle, or any mail route or
other authorized depository for mail matter, or from a letter or mail
carrier, any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or abstracts or
removes from any such letter, package, bag, or mail, any article or
thing contained therein, or secretes, embezzles, or destroys any such
letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or thing
contained therein; or
Whoever steals, takes, or abstracts, or by fraud or deception
obtains any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article
or thing contained therein which has been left for collection upon or
adjacent to a collection box or other authorized depository of mail
matter; or
Whoever buys, receives, or conceals, or unlawfully has in his
possession, any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any
article or thing contained therein, which has been so stolen, taken,
embezzled, or abstracted, as herein described, knowing the same to have
been stolen, taken, embezzled, or abstracted--
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five
years, or both.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 779; May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 39,
63 Stat. 95; July 1, 1952, ch. 535, 66 Stat. 314; Pub. L. 103-322, title
XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(I), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)
Historical and Revision Notes
1948 Act
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Secs. 317, 321 (Mar. 4, 1909,
ch. 321, Secs. 194, 198, 35 Stat. 1125, 1126; May 18, 1916, ch. 126,
Sec. 10, 39 Stat. 162; July 28, 1916, ch. 261, Sec. 1, 39 Stat. 418;
Feb. 25, 1925, ch. 318, 43 Stat. 977; May 7, 1934, ch. 220, Sec. 1, 48
Stat. 667; Aug. 26, 1935, ch. 693, 49 Stat. 867; Aug. 7, 1939, ch. 557,
53 Stat. 1256).
Each of these two sections has been divided. Provisions relating to
theft or larceny of mail were placed in this section.
Words ``letter box, mail receptacle, or any mail route'' are from
section 321 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed. Such receptacles are
authorized depositaries. (See Rosen v. United States, N.Y. 1917, 38
S.Ct. 148, 245 U.S. 467, 62 L.Ed. 406, and Foster v. Biddle, C.C.A. Kan.
1926, 14 F.2d 280, involving indictment under section 317 of title 18,
U.S.C., 1940 ed.) No cases are reported of prosecutions for mail theft
under section 321 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., which relates primarily
to malicious mischief respecting letter boxes.
Language omitted from section 317 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., and
all of section 321 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., except that above
quoted, was incorporated in sections 1702 and 1705 of this title.
Words ``or aids in buying, receiving, or concealing'' were omitted
as unnecessary in view of the definition of principal in section 2 of
this title.
The smaller penalty for an offense involving $100 or less was added.
(See sections 641 and 645 of this title.)
Minor changes were made in phraseology.
1949 Act
This section [section 39] corrects a typographical error in section
1708 of title 18, U.S.C.
Amendments
1994--Pub. L. 103-322 substituted ``fined under this title'' for
``fined not more than $2,000'' in last par.
1952--Act July 1, 1952, made any thefts or receipt of stolen mail a
felony regardless of the monetary value of the thing stolen.
1949--Act May 24, 1949, substituted ``buys'' for ``buy'' in third
par.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 1956 of this title; title 39
section 1008.
