Mail carrier suspended after ballot request, political ads allegedly found in trash

A mail carrier has been placed on unpaid leave after federal agents found mail in a trash can that was supposed to be delivered to homes and businesses in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood.

The items the carrier allegedly tossed away included “several different classes of mail, including one ballot request and about two dozen political advertisements,” according to Special Agent Scott Balfour of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

“The mail was intended for delivery in the Bloomfield area of Pittsburgh, and was already returned to the USPS and delivered to customers,” Balfour said in a statement.

Postal agents were contacted after the mail was discovered Thursday in a trash can at the Persad Center along Butler Street in Lawrenceville.

Carlos Torres, the interim executive director of the Persad Center, said the discarded mail was found by the facility’s manager.

“Our manager looked into the trash can outside the building’s main entrance and saw mail that had not been delivered,” Torres said. “None of the mail in the trash belonged to us, so we left it alone so we didn’t damage any evidence.”

Torres said the security cameras at his facility show the postal worker, over the course of several days, delivering mail to Persad and then going to his vehicle to collect items that he then discarded in the trash can.

Postal officials have not released the name of the carrier who is being investigated but said he worked out of the Mt. Oliver post office before being suspended without pay.

While Balfour declined to identify the carrier, he said special agents on Sunday responded to a report of undelivered mail at a home in Baldwin.

The agents recovered several trash bags filled with mail set out at the curb for pickup, he said. None of the discarded mail were ballot requests or other election material.

“We expect to perform a piece count of the mail … and make arrangements to have the mail delivered to customers as soon as feasible,” Balfour said.

The case will be turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution once the postal service completes its investigation, Balfour said.