Undelivered mail found in woods in Westchester County
SOMERS, Westchester County (WABC) -- The United States Postal Service has launched an investigation after a postal employee allegedly dumped undelivered mail in a wooded area in Westchester County.
The Office of the Inspector General confirmed that the mail was recovered by agents near the intersection of Voris Drive and Wellington Lane in Somers, and the investigation is ongoing.
"It sounds like someone is unhappy, that's what I think," Somers resident Pat Losito said. "I mean, who would do anything like that?"
There is no word on how long the mail has been piling up in the woods, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Powers said no additional information is available at this time due to the ongoing status of the investigation.
Powers said impeding the delivery of the U.S. Mail can be charged criminally, and upon completion, the facts of the investigation will be presented for prosecutorial consideration.
"I don't know if it's related to this, but I never got my bank card, my debit card, from Chase," Somers resident Fred Ostrofsky said. "They said it was sent out August 13, and I had never gotten it. So they got me a new one."
The U.S. Postal Service issued the following statement:
"The Postal Service condemns, in the strongest possible sense, behavior that jeopardizes the security and sanctity of the U.S. Mail or threatens to tarnish the reputation and high level of trust that the vast majority of our employees work so hard to uphold. The matter is under investigation by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General."
Some residents said this latest incident has already compromised that reputation.
"What I've been doing lately, I'm coming here and dropping it to the mail box or the post office," Somers resident Gabe Rutkowski said. "Because you know, that's what I've heard. I'm afraid, especially when I have a check inside. That's a big problem."
The incident comes on the heels of mail delivery problems in other Westchester municipalities like Greenburgh, Larchmont and Ossining. Now, some federal lawmakers want an investigation that addresses and ultimately corrects the problem.
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