NEED HELP - SAW POSTAL EMPLOYEE DO SOMETHING STRANGE

Eyesight | 04/08/2010 | misharu

[misharu]

We have a new postal carrier who started a few weeks ago delivering mail. I have seen her park in a neighbors driveway several times and wondered why she was doing that. Today as I was working from home I saw her park in the driveway, open the gate to the yard, walk in and come back out with some sort of light -- like a torchier. (That was her second trip. I didn't have a good vantage point for the first trip.) So what!? you may ask -- the house is up for sale and has sat empty for deveral months.

I see no reason for her to be anywhere near that house so my question is: Who do I contact for something like this? The Police? The Postal Inspector?

[Mr. K]

OK... what’s a ‘torchier’?

call the police before she gets rid of the evidence

Why did you need to ask us?

[lucky american]

I have a few empty homes that still get mail.
Sometimes people drive by see an empty house and use that address for getting a credit card, hospital bills are also sent to empty homes. We do not know when someone moves in or out because they never fill out a “change of address” forms. They're just gone.
Certified, signature conformation and knocking to see if anyone has actually moved in. I occasionally look in on homes because a customer asked me to keep an eye out while she was gone.
All suspicious if you don't ask.

[AlanD]

I would just call the Real Estate Agent and find out if anything were missing.

[bcsco]

This is a USPS employee who is walking away from an empty home with something, as the story goes: "Today as I was working from home I saw her park in the driveway, open the gate to the yard, walk in and come back out with some sort of light -- like a torchier." I don't know what a "torchier" is, but there's no indication the worker carried it in to begin with.

Perhaps the poster can clarify if the worker was carrying anything when entering the property. But as written, it sounds suspicious.

[Vendome]

Cahl duh pohlice!

[Vendome]

Jerrrry....

[Vendome]

Sooo... Let’s see. If the USPS murdered someone or was actually doing B&E and stealing stuff, that’s all for the IG and the locals can’t do a thing?

[Vendome]

You’re not bad but I trust my dog’s instincts on good guys and bad guys. LOL /s

[Richard Kimball]

First of all, don’t overreact. Some of the posts on here are funny in all the things they’re imagining.
Yeah, she might be stealing something. OTOH, she might have stopped to look at the house to see about buying it. As to carrying a light, she could easily have had it in her pocket and taken it out to look at something.
There are many reasons she could have been at the house, some legitimate, some not. There are other people here who have suggested who to contact, but when you contact someone, just mention that it seemed odd. I would not speculate on motives.
Yes it is unusual, and MIGHT be an indication of illegal activity. However, using our fertile minds we could create a meth lab and house of prostitution combined with drug running when, in fact, she was dropping off a letter.

[Domangart]

Shoot the postal worker on her 15 min break and see what happens.

[misharu]

I do lots of things for customers that might cause some concern to the busy body next door peeking out through the curtain, waiting to turn someone in.

To address this first. From where I am sitting I can see out the window to the front of my neighbors house. I see something suspicious, so I take a closer look. I do not appreciate you characterizing me in the way above. I find it churlish. Secondly, from the tone of your post, I can see why ppl say the things that they do about postal carriers. You have a mightly big chip on that shoulder.

Thirdly, the house is for sale. No one has lived in said house for at least 6 months. So tell me, whatever could the reason be for this woman to trespass? Hrmmm?

To everyone else, I drove up to City Hall and spoke with one of St. Louis County's finest. He was going to see if he could catch up with her and check things out.

And lastly, to those of you who thing I am a dumbshti asking this -- I didn't know who to contact. The Police or Postal Inpector. I knew I could get a quick response here, so I typed the post. And as I said in a previous post, I was literally brain shocked from seeing it. So forgive me for being human.

[calex59]

Consider the fact she might be interested in buying the house. If you really need help with this one call the cops. Why are you posting a vanity for this silly sh**?

[misharu]

hehehheheh . . .good post, Richard. And all I did was tell the cop what I saw. I made no speculation.

[bcsco]

Did the postal carrier take anything onto the property? Did the postal carrier have access to the interior of the property? What is a “torchier”? Did the postal carrier act as though they were considering the property for purchase? You indicated this isn’t the first instance. How many instances have you witnessed, over what period of time within that 6 month time frame?

[misharu]

No. No. A lamp. No. She has only been delivering mail here for two or three weeks while regular guy is out with surgery. 5 or 6. ;-}

[bcsco]

So, 5-6 visits to an empty house over a two-three week period. Nothing carried onto the property, but seen leaving with a lamp (I’ll assume it was a type of flashlight...maybe a camping lantern).

But you say ‘delivering mail here for two or three weeks’. Was she indeed ‘delivering mail’? Your negative response to my question about her bringing anything onto the property indicates she wasn’t. Am I correct?

I’m asking, because a postal carrier, accessing a vacant property 5- 6 times without delivering mail is suspicious, IMO. I’m agreeing with your assessment. If, OTOH, she was bringing mail onto the property, that could be far less suspicious. I’m trying to get a better idea of this.

[lucky american]

No offense, but the “All Letter Carriers are bad” mantra has got to stop. We are not all bad and yes I do have busy bodies on my route that are peeking through the curtains waiting to turn someone in.
If you really believe something illegal is going on confront her and ask. If she gives you a wrong answer call the police.

[bcsco]

No offense, but the “All Letter Carriers are bad” mantra has got to stop.

Sorry, but I don't see where misharu made any such assertion. Please point the way to the statement...

[misharu]

bc - I work from home only one day a week and no one is here the other four days. So who is to say the is the first time? This is the first time I have seen her enter the property. She has parked (backed in) 5 or 6 times. My sister and I thought it odd, but really thought nothing of it. Then today, I see her carry something out and place it in the mail truck. Even more odd.

It was not my intent to brush all mail carriers with a single brush. As a matter of fact, I absolutely LOVE my regular carrier. It was just odd behavior and I could not figure out the "why" of it.

I guess I will just wait and see if Mr. Policeman comes back tells me what he found.

[bearkat]

Who has jurisdiction depends on what crime has been committed. Like when a kidnapper takes someone across state lines, it goes from state/local to federal. If you rob your neighbor, it’s state/local... if you rob a bank, it’s federal.

If you see someone getting murdered or a crime occurring in real time, duh, you call the police who can be there in less than 5 minutes. If THEY find out the crime was committed under specific circumstances that may call for federal intervention, they decide amongst themselves who has jurisdiction to prosecute.

If you have suspicions that a postal worker MAY be doing something wrong, the inspector general can have someone investigate that postal worker specifically. I know of specific postal workers who have been followed and video taped breaking the law by inspectors inside the postal system.

The local police do not have time to sit around and wait for a postal worker to do something wrong on their time.