She’s no cat thief, locals say

Holding signs with “Unfair,” “Bring Back our Mail Lady” and “No Job, No Pay, No Proof,” 24 residents gathered in front of the U.S. Postal Service on Warner Avenue to protest the suspension of their mail carrier at a rally Saturday.

The rally was to support a mail carrier who was taken off her route when a neighbor filed a complaint when two cats went missing. The neighbor called the police to allege that the mail carrier stole their pets, according to a police report.

The Huntington Beach Police Department is investigating the issue, Sgt. Jim McLean said

Residents said they are upset about the allegations and the post office’s reaction.

“She has a heart of gold. I don’t think she’d ever do this,” Pam Berry said of the cat-nabbing accusations.

Multiple residents said they saw one of the cats the carrier is accused of stealing dead in a gutter.

Neighbor Carolyn Troadec said she called Animal Control to pick up the cat and then called its owner.

Troadec said she told the owner the news, but the owner didn’t want to believe the cat was dead.

Neighbors said they decided to rally when their mail carrier was suspended without pay because of the allegations, but U.S. Post Office spokesman Richard Maher said there is more than one complaint.

Maher said the carrier was taken off the route where the allegations from the first complaint about the carrier stealing multiple cats came from. After the second complaint, the situation is being investigated by the Office of Inspector General and the carrier was suspended without pay, Maher said.

“Based on what the complaint was and the seriousness of the complaint, that is why the employee was taken off work and without pay,” Maher said.

The second, a conduct complaint, is at odds with the experiences the residents at the rally said they have had. Residents said the carrier went “above and beyond.”

Dee Krauss, a physically disabled resident, said the carrier made special accommodations for her.

“She’s been delivering my mail to my garage,” Krauss said.

Other residents said the carrier made arrangements if they went out of town and Shirley Gunther said she received a sympathy card after her husband died. Many protesters said the carrier has been delivering their mail for more than 20 years.

“She knows everybody. She’s our little watchdog of the community,” Terry Williams said.

Neighbors fear they will never get their carrier back, but Maher said it might be possible.

“Yes, if all charges are dismissed the employee would go back to work and get back-pay,” Maher said.

Williams said he doubts they will ever get their mail carrier back and said the situation was a loss for everyone — neighbors lost their mail lady, people lost their cats and the mail carrier was suspended from her job.

“It’s a sad story for everybody,” Williams said.