USPS investigating mail found in storm drain

BATON ROUGE - A U.S. Postal Worker is accused of kicking addressed mail into a storm drain.

The alleged incident happened in the Broadmoor area of Baton Rouge near Sharp Road and Old Hammond Hwy. A resident living on Heatherview Ct. says she witnessed it happening Saturday around noon.

"I could see that he was actually putting mail into the storm drain and actually kicking some into the storm drain," she said.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, said her dog alerted her to what was happening.

"I saw the mail truck stopped at the storm drain between my neighbor's house and mine," she said. "I saw him grab stuff from inside the truck and throw it in the drain and kick it further into the drain."

The woman says the postal worker was wearing a red t-shirt. After putting the items in the drain, she says the person got back into the truck and proceeded to finish the route. Once the USPS truck was out of sight, the woman went to investigate what was in the drain and found addressed mail with nearby addresses.

"It wasn't all junk mail," she said. "Some of it, you could tell, was addressed."

The incident was reported to the USPS, which is investigating what it's calling "unattended mail."

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General says it received an allegation regarding unattended mail which was found in the Baton Rouge area. Special Agents from our Baton Rouge, LA office immediately responded and an investigation was initiated. Victim notification letters will be sent and the recovered mail will be returned at the conclusion of the investigation. At this time, no additional information related to this investigation is available for public release due to Privacy Act considerations and the ongoing status of the USPS OIG’s investigation.

The USPS says this type of behavior is not tolerated and the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees, which serve the public, are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior.

The Broadmoor resident that spoke with WBRZ says she's happy the USPS is taking her concerns seriously. She says this week she has noticed someone different was delivering her mail.