Isle postal worker A 20-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service is being investigated for allegedly stealing mail and exchanging it for cash and drugs, according to a source close to the investigation.
is mail theft suspect
The 20-year employee allegedly
traded mail for cash and drugs
By Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comThe suspect is a 45-year-old employee of the Honolulu Airport post office and has been placed on emergency suspension pending the outcome of the investigation, Postal Inspector Kathryn Derwey confirmed.
While postal officials have had a problem with private citizens stealing mail from mailboxes, Derwey said she believed this is the only local case involving an employee allegedly stealing mail from within the post office.
"We don't know how long he's had this problem ... at least a year," Derwey said. "Ninety-nine percent of the employees here are honest employees, but there's always that 1 percent that runs amok."
Investigators have recovered three bags of stolen mail that had been in the suspect's possession, according to a source close to the investigation who requested anonymity.
Derwey said they had other evidence of the suspect stealing mail from the post office but would not provide details.
The recovered mail included credit cards, credit-card information and tax refund checks, which investigators believe the suspect used to barter for crystal methamphetamine, according to the source.
Derwey confirmed that another law enforcement agency is investigating the suspect for drug-related offenses.
The suspect was last known to have taken his 85-year-old mother's car earlier this summer and has not been seen since.
Postal Service officials said the employee involved in the investigation is not a mail carrier.
Upon hiring new employees, the Postal Service does a background check and a drug test but does not do random drug tests afterward.
"Things can change," Derwey said. "People get into things that they regret later."
A second law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said authorities are also focusing on those to whom the suspect allegedly sold the mail, though it is not known how many people may be involved.
Postal officials previously have said that drug addicts made up the majority of mail thieves around the state and used the personal information found in the mail to order items on the Internet and to deposit or forge stolen checks.
"This isn't new," Derwey said, referring to the latest case. "As long as there's been a postal service, there have been employees stealing mail. It just doesn't usually happen here."