Brooklyn postal worker Michael Olivio was arrested by feds last week for stealing mail he was supposed to deliver when he suspected that cards contained cash or checks. After residents on his postal route began to complain that they were not receiving certain expected pieces of mail, postal inspectors began an elaborate investigation. First they mailed decoy greeting cards to establish that mail was indeed disappearing along Olivio's route. They followed that up by mailing an envelope containing cash and an electronic transmitter, which they traced to Olivio's car.

The agents recovered the letter containing the transmitter in addition to 38 unopened greeting card letters. Inside the auto trunk were two bags containing about 100 greeting card letters in which the envelopes were torn open.

While the mailman has lawyered up, postal inspectors said that he confessed to selectively stealing residents' mail beginning around Valentine's Day. Ironically, for someone who allegedly steals people's Christmas gifts, Olivio is not short on holiday cheer. Neighbors say that the home he shares with his sister in Queens is usually the most elaborately decorated house on the block around the holidays. According to the description in the Daily News, it is festooned with red bows, oversized pine branches, plastic snowmen, and pine cones, with a wreath and ornaments on the door.

If you think someone's stealing your mail, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Unit.