Update: charges will be filed against local mail carrier

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Charges will indeed be filed in connection with an October 22 mail burning incident in Van Wert and those charges will be handled at the federal level.

“This case has been referred to the US Attorney’s Office for criminal prosecution,” said Charlene Cerra, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, USPS OIG, in response to an email inquiry by the VW independent.

Cerra confirmed charges will be filed and said it’s just a matter of submitting the paperwork. The exact charge or charges will be determined by the US Attorney’s Office.

An investigation began at the federal level after a mail carrier at the Van Wert Post Office set fire to undelivered mail in a fire pit in the backyard of his George St. home during the early morning hours of Wednesday, October 22. The Van Wert Police Department was alerted to the unattended fire and the Van Wert Fire Department was called on to extinguish the small blaze.

Body camera footage provided by the police department showed the mail on fire.

All questions about the incident were immediately referred to the U.S. Postal Service Northern Ohio District in Cleveland by Van Wert Postmaster Greg McKeddie. Because the mail that was destroyed is considered federal property, the Office of the Inspector General became involved.

The VW independent previously reached out to the mail carrier for comment but received no response. However, in an interview with Fort Wayne-based WANE 15 television station the day of the incident, the man said “he’d forgottten to send out Friday’s mail to Central Ave, and said he noticed the pile in his truck this morning and, for fear of getting in trouble, put the 6-inch stack of envelopes in his fire pit and lit it on fire.”

The man did not appear on camera and was not named in the report. The VW independent has the man’s name, but is not publishing it at this time because formal charges have yet to be filed.

In the meantime, the mail carrier is still employed by the U.S. Postal Service. Naddie Dhalai, USPS Strategic Communications Specialist, confirmed Friday that the mail carrier is still employed at the Van Wert Post Office. She was unable to divulge any other information about his status.