25 Fired for Postal Thefts in Mexico

The Post Office Thursday fired 25 employees who worked at various city branches for stealing thousands of dollars worth of money orders, checks and gifts from the mails, a newspaper reported.

In April, more than 40 employees were suspended without pay while postal officials sifted through numerous complaints from customers who claimed money was taken from letters from the United States, El Nacional newspaper said.

The investigation was launched after Communications Ministry officials discovered garbage cans full of torn and discarded envelopes last March.

Following the inquiry, 25 department heads and mail room managers were found guilty of stealing an unspecified amount of money, believed to total as much as $20,000, officials said.

Most of the money was taken from letters from Mexican nationals working in the United States who sent monthly checks to relatives in the metropolitan area.