Some Letters in Bin Addressed to Finder : Trash Yields Bundles of Missing Mail

More than 400 pieces of mail found in a San Fernando Valley trash bin late last week will be delivered to Sepulveda residents today, a postal inspector said Wednesday.

The mail, 403 letters, parcels and magazines, should have been delivered last Friday, Postal Inspector Robert Bucy said. Instead, it was discovered Saturday afternoon by a young Sepulveda man rummaging for scrap metal in a trash bin behind Albertson’s market on Balboa Boulevard in Northridge.

Postal officials, who are investigating, would not speculate on how the mail ended up in the trash. Throwing away, delaying or destroying mail is a felony that carries a maximum fine of $500 and up to five years’ imprisonment, Bucy said.

Greg Parfitt, 20, who made the discovery, said the mail bore Aug. 8 postmarks and was packaged in bundles according to street addresses.

‘Everything’ in Dumpster

“There was everything in there, stuff from Germany, bank statements, checks, airmail letters, magazines and packages,” Parfitt said.

Some of the bundles had been torn open and appeared to have been ransacked, he said. “It looked as if someone else had gone through some of them.”

Postal officials said they do not know whether any of the mail was stolen.

Parfitt said he saw some of his own mail among the trash. He also noticed the names of neighbors on some pieces and delivered these before calling the Post Office.

When postal inspectors arrived on the scene, they collected all the mail in red bags and took it to the Sepulveda Post Office, Parfitt said.

Mail Stored Temporarily

Jim Dillman, head postmaster for the San Fernando Valley, said the mail has been stored there.

He said the delay in delivery occurred because inspectors were searching for fingerprints and other evidence.

According to Dillman, inspectors have a “very good idea” why the mail was not delivered Friday, but he declined further comment until the investigation is complete.

Incidents such as the Sepulveda mail dumping happen on “very rare occasions,” Dillman said.