The post office heist that left bureaucrats with 'hell to pay'
On Easter Sunday in 1979, major theft from Ottawa postal facility revealed multiple security issues
There was no alarm system and the thieves walked right in the back door.
And that's why there was a lot of finger-pointing going on after thieves made off with millions in coins, jewelry and traveller's cheques they took from a Canada Post facility in Ottawa on Easter Sunday in 1979.
"The robbers made their way through the rear door, directly to the registered mail room, and stuffed $2.5 million worth of American Express traveller's cheques into duffel bags," the CBC's Judith Melby told viewers on The National.
Melby told viewers the thieves also absconded with what authorities then believed was more than $2 million worth of coins and jewelry.
"The Ottawa police were very critical of the post office's security," said Melby. "There was no alarm system in the room and the only security guard was at the front door."
The thieves had left behind two loaded guns and two "nylon masks." It seemed they hadn't needed them.
The Canadian Press would report that the thieves had simply broken a window at the back of the building and then walked up a set of stairs to the area they looted.
Little security, no leads
The day after the robbery, Postmaster-General Gilles Lamontagne said the theft could have been prevented if security upgrades hadn't been delayed by budget constraints.
"Postal officials have been complaining for months about poor security in general," said Melby, when reporting on the heist for a second straight day on The National.
"Security systems have already been installed in other cities. A post office spokesman says Ottawa just hasn't been done yet and now he says there'll be hell to pay."
Melby also reported that the thieves were believed to have spent "a couple of hours" in the building, undetected, as they filled their duffel bags.
Ottawa police at that point had no leads in the case, though Insp. Lou Ullrich told reporters "all major forces have been advised [of the theft] including Interpol." He noted police had also been working with American Express and postal investigators on the case.
Within a few weeks, a suspect was arrested in connection with the case. But he was later found not guilty of the charges against him at the trial.
In the months and years that followed the heist, newspaper reports would periodically mention individuals alleged to have been caught using traveller's cheques reported missing from that incident — in Canada and in other countries.
