Re: How to deal with your Neighbors Outdoor Lights


Several years ago, I was stuffing mail boxes with a note regarding an event in the neighborhood. Someone reported me to the Post Office....and a Postal Inspector paid me a visit. I was told the bit about it being a crime for anyone other than the Post Office to put anything in a mail box. I disputed this and made the example of "I bought the mail box---therefor it is MINE! Likewise, every mailbox out there had been bought by someone OTHER than the USPS...etc, etc, etc." I pointed out that other than putting mail into the box, whatever else went in there was none of their business.

WELL!! I got told if I persisted in putting ANYTHING in mail boxes I would be arrested for violating postal regulations! He handed me a *** of paper which quoted USPS regulations that stated that once a mailbox was placed for the purpose of receiving mail, that box immediately became the property of the USPS and was no longer the property of the person who bought it. It advised me that putting ANYTHING into a mail box was considered interfering with the lawful delivery of the mail.....which was a federal offence.

Just another example of governmental interference in private matters!!

Wayne Howell
Photon Phlats Observatory
Port Townsend, WA


Florian wrote:

BTW, stuffing messages in mailboxes is illegal in the U.S.


You know, i've heard this all my life, but i'm not sure it's true. I own the mailbox in front of my house. Why would it be a crime for someone other than the USPS to put stuff in it? I do understand that the USPS has standards for what can be considered an acceptable mailbox but i don't think they actually have any jurisdiction over MY mailbox per se. Tampering with delivered mail may be a crime but
i don't think putting things in my mailbox is.

-Florian


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