A part-time letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Chicago faces a variety of charges after he was allegedly caught red-handed by police burning undelivered mail in his back yard on New Year’s Day.
Larry J. Mack, 39, has been charged with failing to deliver more than 8,400 pieces of mail. Mack could also face additional charges ranging from destruction of mail to theft of mail by a postal employee, according to Leo Lalley, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Mack, who faces a minimum of five years in prison and a $25,000 fine, has reportedly been suspended without pay. He worked for the USPS as a part-time letter carrier out of the Lakeview Station in Chicago’s north side for two years.
Lalley said that Chicago police arrested Mack last Saturday afternoon as he was allegedly burning significant amounts of unopened mail in two back yard trash cans. The mail included letters, magazines, newspapers and catalogs. The police had been alerted to the situation by a 911 call.
Police also found piles of undelivered and unopened mail in a third garbage can and in the back seats of two cars registered to Mack, Lalley said. The mail was later turned over to postal inspectors for examination.
Although some of the recovered letters were postmarked in April, Lalley said most of the mail should have been delivered in November and December.
“We’re still sorting through the mail to determine its content and age,” Lalley said. He noted that while some of the mail will be kept for evidence, the remainder is to be delivered along with a letter explaining the reason for the delivery delay.
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