Homes getting mail hoarded by carrier gone rogue

Love letters, checks and gift cards, as well as hundreds of packages, are among 20,000 pieces of mail that have been arriving very late - in some cases years late - at addresses in the Bustleton area, zip code 19115.

The items, dating as far back as 1997, were found on April 28 in the home of an unidentified letter carrier being sought by authorities, according to Special Agent Scott Balfour of the U.S. Postal Service's Office of Inspector General.

"It doesn't appear that any money was stolen or any gift cards," Balfour said. "It appears it was merely delayed or not delivered."

The items were not opened by either the carrier or investigators, so the Postal Service has no inventory of the item's contents, Balfour said.

The mail, mostly stored in trash bags, has been arriving in mailboxes this week.

Although much mail has been found, the carrier has not.

"We still would like to interview the letter carrier to get his side of the story," Balfour said.

Until the suspect's name becomes part of the public record, because of charges or warrants, policy dictates the withholding of his name, Balfour said.

Also unclear was how investigators were tipped off.

"I don't want to say at this time how the agency learned of this mail," Balfour said.

The decision about possible charges with rest with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, he said.

"There are federal statues that involve delay of mail and theft of mail," he said.

Mail delayed by years can, of course, be costly to customers for many reasons. They might have paid to replace gifts, purchases or documents thought lost, or have seen checks expire.

Anyone with a complaint, claim or question in regard to the delayed mail can call the Postal Service's Philadelphia consumer affairs office at 215-863-6060. Also, the national customer hotline is 1-800-275-8777 (1-800-ASK-USPS).

Did you get long-delayed mail? If you'd like to share your story, e-mail online@phillynews.com or call 215-854-2443.