Letter Carrier Charged in O.C. Postal Thefts : Investigation: State counts include check forgery and possession of stolen credit cards. Mail from 1993 was recovered.

A veteran mail carrier has been charged with check forgery and possession of stolen property, including credit cards, after police found more than 5,000 pieces of mail stashed at his home, investigators said.

Peter Paul Amat, 52, was arrested as he was getting ready to make his rounds Tuesday from the Fountain Valley Post Office, Garden Grove Police Capt. Dave Abrecht said.

Amat had been under investigation since May 2, when officials at Home Savings of America became suspicious after he deposited a total of $11,000 in personal checks.

“He was making big deposits, as much as $4,000,” Abrecht said.

Officials alleged that Amat was opening mail that contained credit-card checks printed with cardholders’ names. Credit-card companies, such as Discover, often send their cardholders blank checks that can be used for withdrawals from their accounts, Garden Grove police investigator Deborah Mack said.

Police suspect Amat of allegedly writing those checks to himself, forging the cardholders’ signatures and depositing the checks to his bank account. “What he was doing was pretty obvious,” Mack said.

Amat told officials that he has been divorced for about five years and was facing financial troubles.

“One of the motives may have been he had a lot of bills,” Abrecht said. “I guess he had some financial problems, but he went about solving them in the wrong way.”

Reports from the bank prompted police to search the 22-year Postal Service veteran’s Garden Grove home, where they allegedly found seven credit cards, along with music club cassette tapes and other items, among the stray mail.

“There were things that were still unopened,” Abrecht said. “He apparently kept pieces of mail that had some value.”

Mack said some pieces of mail were postmarked in 1993. The stolen mail was turned over to postal inspectors.

The Orange County district attorney’s office on Thursday filed 22 felony charges against Amat, including 13 for credit-card theft and possession of stolen goods.

Amat was being held Friday at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail. His arraignment is set for Wednesday.

Police said Amat may also face federal charges.