In the Matter of the Petition by 	) August 23, 1996          
                                 	)
PAUL M. GOLDBERG                 	)
P.O. Box 109766                  	)
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310-9766   	)
                                 	)
Termination of Post Office Box   	)
Service for P.O. Box 109766      	)
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310-9766   	) P.S. Docket No. POB 96-145 

APPEARANCE FOR PETITIONER:		C. Craig Stella, Esq.
					The 110 Tower-Suite 1710                 
					110 Southeast 6th Street
					Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301-5001

APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:		Rodney T. Gould, Esq.
					United States Postal Service
					475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
					Washington, DC 20260-1147

Petitioner has filed an appeal from an Initial Decision of an Administrative Law Judge upholding the determination of the Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Postmaster to terminate post office box service to P.O. Box 109766, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33310-9766. The Postal Service has not filed a response to Petitioner's appeal.

In the Initial Decision the Administrative Law Judge found that Petitioner had used a false name on his original application for post office box service and that he had not established that he was entitled to use an additional name appearing on an update of that box application. As a result, the Administrative Law Judge concluded that the Ft. Lauderdale Postmaster had properly determined that Petitioner's use of the post office box should be terminated.

Although Petitioner contends he was entitled to use both names on the application form, the record does not support this contention. The name used on the original application was not his legal name at the time he filled out the application and there is no persuasive evidence to establish that it ever became his legal name (I.D. FOFs 1 & 4). Moreover, the name on the updated application belonged to someone Petitioner alleges purchased his business, but he has not presented any evidence that the business was sold or that he was authorized by the purchaser to use his name on the box application. Therefore, the record supports the Administrative Law Judge's conclusion that Petitioner was not entitled to use the names⁽¹⁾ appearing on the application form and that their use was a violation of Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) §D910.2.2.⁽²⁾ Accordingly, Petitioner's appeal is denied and the Administrative Law Judge's Initial Decision sustaining the Ft. Lauderdale Postmaster's determination⁽³⁾ to terminate service to P.O. Box 109766 is affirmed.

						James A. Cohen
						Judicial Officer

2. DMM §D910.2.2 states that "[p]utting false information on the application or refusing to give required information may be sufficient reason for denying the application or discontinuing service."

3. In arriving at his determination the Postmaster also relied on DMM §D910.7.2a which states that "[a] Postmaster may terminate post office box service if the box customer falsifies the application for the box. . . ." Although the Administrative Law Judge referred to this provision, he did not rely on it as a basis for his decision.