‘Piles of mail,’ stolen IDs and key-making materials found in downtown Chicago hotel room

A sign warning U.S. Postal Service customers of the potential for mail theft is posted outside the Harwood Heights Post Office, 7101 W. Gunnison St. (Miriam Di Nunzio/Sun-Times)

Evidence of a potential large-scale mail fraud operation was recovered at a downtown hotel Tuesday, sparking a joint investigation by Chicago police and federal authorities.

Police have released limited information about the probe, saying only that officers responded early Tuesday to an empty hotel room in the 200 block of North Wabash Avenue and “discovered various electronic items and … postal property.”