Postal worker charged with taking mail

DETROIT -- A former postal worker has been charged with stealing thousands of pieces of mail that authorities say she had kept in a storage unit northwest of Detroit.

More than 9,000 pieces of mail have been recovered from a storage unit in Fowlerville, federal investigators said Tuesday. Authorities say Jill Hull admitted storing the mail because she couldn't deliver it on time. Some mail has postmarks from 2005.

Hull worked for the Postal Service for 3 1/2 years, filling in for other carriers in the Howell area, about 60 miles northwest of Detroit. She quit her job in August, about three weeks before the mail was discovered.

Hull could not be reached for comment. A phone number listed for her was disconnected.

Because the mail is evidence in a criminal case, it's not known when it finally will be delivered.

"It could take some time," said Breck Nowlin, a senior agent with the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General. "Our agents have looked through the mail. Where they have found birthday cards, greeting cards, they took the time to locate some of the people and let them know it will be delivered."