Ohio Postal Worker Confesses to Illegally Burning Undelivered Mail in Backyard

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VAN WERT, Ohio (WANE) – An investigation has been launched by the U.S. Postal Service following an incident where an employee allegedly set fire to mail on Wednesday morning.

According to a press release from Chief Doug Weigle, an officer from the Van Wert Police Department arrived at a residence around 7:30 a.m. after receiving a report of an unattended fire in the yard.

In the backyard of a home located in the 900 block of George Street, which is the residence of a Van Wert postal carrier, the officer uncovered “evidence of postal mail being burned,” as stated in the release.

The investigation determined that the postal carrier had been burning mail that did not belong to him and had not been delivered to its rightful recipients.

local affiliate WANE spoke with the man, who said he’d forgotten to send out Friday’s mail to Central Avenue. He said he noticed the pile in his truck Wednesday morning and, for fear of getting in trouble, put the 6-inch stack of envelopes in his fire pit and lit it on fire.

The Van Wert Fire Department put out the flames. A lieutenant told WANE 15 it took a five-gallon bucket to remove the debris from the property.

The investigation was turned over to the postmaster when he arrived shortly after 8 a.m.

The mail carrier spoke with WANE 15 on the condition of remaining anonymous. He did say he was taken off the Central Avenue route, but said he had not yet been charged with anything criminal. He said he regrets his actions and wishes he’d dealt with the mistake in a better way.

When asked if he had anything to say to the people on Central Avenue, he said he apologizes to the people who lost their mail.