The Postman Never Rings Twice

Another postman was busted for keeping mail at his house and not delivering it. This one had 300 tubs of mail with more than 16,000 letters in his Southfield, MI, home. The Detroit News says it dates back to 2002...

"According to the caller, the mail dated back to 2002 and consisted of mail from the Michigan Department of Treasury, child support, tax returns, utility bills and magazines," the affidavit said.

The mailman in question has had the same route for 16 years. How does one get away with not delivering so much mail to the people on that route for five of those years? The nature of the neighborhood may provide a clue:

Affected households are in Detroit's 48208 ZIP code, in an area just west of Wayne State University, near the intersection of I-94 and the Lodge Freeway.

...

Much of the undelivered mail was third-class mail and mail addressed to vacant homes, said Ed Moore, a postal spokesman in Detroit. Letter carriers are supposed to return any undelivered mail to the post office, not take it home, he said.

If a letter falls in an empty city, apparently it doesn't make a sound.