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Postal Service regulator fires chief data officer following arrest in San Diego

Russell Rappel-Schmid was arrested Monday on felony charges.
USPS, Postal Service, mail
(Tony Webster / Flickr)

The Postal Service’s regulatory agency has terminated employment of its chief data officer, Russell Rappel-Schmid, after he was arrested in San Diego on felony charges.

Rappel-Schmid, the Postal Regulatory Commission’s first chief data officer, was arrested Monday by the San Diego Harbor Police Department, and charged with allegedly arranging to meet with a minor for lewd purpose, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Amber Baggs said.

He was booked into San Diego Jail and released on bail that was set at $25,000 early on Tuesday morning, Baggs said. He is scheduled for felony arraignment on July 18.

The Postal Regulatory Commission said in a statement Monday that the agency learned of the recent arrest of an unnamed employee and terminated his employment immediately.

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“The commission is shocked and horrified at these serious allegations and maintains a steadfast commitment to promptly deal with any claims of employee misconduct,” the agency wrote. 

The commission is an independent federal agency that provides regulatory oversight over the Postal Service to ensure transparency and accountability over the USPS.

Before joining the commission, Rappel-Schmid was the chief data officer for the State of Alaska and previously spent nine years with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, according to his LinkedIn. He also served more than 20 years in the Marine Corps, mostly as an auditor.

Nihal Krishan

Written by Nihal Krishan

Nihal Krishan is a technology reporter for FedScoop. He came to the publication from The Washington Examiner where he was a Big Tech Reporter, and previously covered the tech industry at Mother Jones and Global Competition Review. In addition to tech policy, he has also covered national politics with a focus on the economy and campaign finance. His work has been published in the Boston Globe, USA TODAY, HuffPost, and the Arizona Republic, and he has appeared on NPR, SiriusXM, and PBS Arizona. Krishan is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School for Journalism. You can reach him at nihal.krishan@fedscoop.com.

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