CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte man said he saw a postal worker throwing away mail. He found stacks of letters, bills, and statements buried in a trashcan inside of the mailroom at the Fairways at Piper Glen Apartment complex.
“I was shocked. I was upset because right as I started pulling this mail out, it was IRS letters, late payments for utilities, things like that, also I saw a child custody letter from the court system, I assume," he said.
The man, who asked WCNC Charlotte not to share his name or face, said for months he watched postal carriers throwing things into the trash can, but assumed it was all ads.
Until one day he took a closer look. He found most of the mail belongs to homes in the Ballantyne and Stonecrest areas.
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Since finding the mail, he says he’s been in touch with a United States Postal Service inspector general agent, who picked out more mail from the trashcan yesterday.
“I just hope other people are aware of this and keep a lookout," he said. "If it’s happening here, it’s happening in other places. There are hundreds of apartment complexes in Charlotte. Any mailroom with a trash can could have mail in it that doesn’t belong there.”
The USPS Office Of Inspector General said it cannot comment on possible investigations, but said people can report possible wrongdoings by USPS workers here.
In a separate incident, the Fort Mill Police Department said it's investigating reports of mail stolen out of a blue box outside of the Fort Mill Post Office on Tom Hall Street. They’re advising people to go inside of the post office instead of using blue boxes outside.