Post Office Named for Slain Carrier

A post office in Chino Hills was renamed Friday in honor of Joseph Santos Ileto, the letter carrier who authorities say was shot to death on his rounds by the same gunman who earlier wounded five people at the North Valley Jewish Community Center.

President Clinton signed the bill to honor the slain postman, a Filipino American who authorities say was targeted because of his Asian ancestry and his job as a government employee. The Chino Hills station was chosen because it is near Ileto’s home.

The president is scheduled to meet this evening with Ileto’s family while he is in Los Angeles to attend a Democratic National Committee dinner.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who, with Rep. Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar), proposed the honor, said Ileto touched many lives.

“His life and death exemplify the ultimate sacrifice of public service, which we too often take for granted,” she said in a statement. “Ileto’s death also sadly confirms the urgency with which we as a nation must take a strong stand against hate crimes and racism.”

Buford O. Furrow Jr., an admitted white supremacist, has been charged with killing Ileto and with hate-crime violations in the wounding of three boys, a teenage girl and a receptionist at the Jewish center in Granada Hills.

According to police accounts, Furrow had just finished his rampage there Aug. 10 when he chanced upon the postal carrier walking his mail route. Ileto, 39, was shot nine times and died in a Chatsworth driveway.

Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the Washington state man, whose trial is set to begin in November.

Ileto emigrated from the Philippines at the age of 14, eventually studying engineering at East Los Angeles College. He lived in Chino Hills with his brother and worked two jobs to make ends meet. At the Chatsworth post office he worked part time, covering routes when other carriers had days off.

He was known as a man who liked to share laughs and was always there to help when needed. He was a recognized master in chess and loved all kinds of games, from old-fashioned Scrabble to New Age computer contests, his friends said.

Los Angeles postal officials said having the Chino Hills post office named for one of their own is a rare honor.

“The unfortunate part is he’s not there to see this,” said spokesman David Mazer. “I’m sure employees who worked with Joseph will be proud and happy that the rest of the world recognized the good work that he did.”

The news for his friends at the Chatsworth post office was bittersweet. Postmaster Ramona Franco had been on the job only a few weeks when the shooting took place but said she had come to value Ileto.

“It’s wonderful to memorialize Joe, but we miss him here,” she said.

Glenn Ritona, a Chatsworth letter carrier, was one of Ileto’s best friends and said all of Ileto’s co-workers were pleased about the honor.

But he said they also want some recognition of their fallen friend at the Chatsworth office. They signed a petition months ago to have a plaque or some other remembrance of Ileto put up but have received no word yet, he said.

“He died for the thing he loved most, which was working,” said Ritona, 29. “His name should be at this office too. But we’re really happy that he’s getting some recognition.”