USPS Finds Trash Bags Full of Mail on Employee's Curb

Garbage bags filled with undelivered mail were left on the curb for trash collectors outside the home of a postal employee in Pennsylvania, according to the US Postal Service, which describes such cases as "exceedingly rare." Special agents with USPS on Sunday discovered the bags holding "several different classes of mail, including business mail, flats, and small amount of first class mail," on the curb in Baldwin, a suburb of Pittsburgh, while responding to a report about undelivered mail, reports CNN. KDKA reports there were eight bags of mail—none containing ballots—in front of the home. The outlet reports neighbors had seen a similar number of bags left outside over several weeks.

Special Agent Scott Balfour said the employee at the post office in nearby Mount Oliver was placed on unpaid leave. "Once USPS OIG special agents conclude their investigation, the case will be presented for federal prosecution to the US Attorney's Office," he said, per CNN. He added the mail would be "delivered to customers as soon as feasible." Balfour stressed that most of the Postal Service's 630,000 employees are "hard-working, trustworthy individuals" and "incidents of this nature are exceedingly rare when put into that context." However, KDKA reports a mail carrier in Pittsburgh is under investigation after he was seen dropping packages in trash cans on surveillance video. A ballot application was recovered, per WPXI. (A mail carrier in New Jersey is charged with dumping mail, including ballots.)