Postal worker accused of sending mail for free
$400,000: Man reportedly said he'd like to bankrupt Postal Service.

By JULIA O'MALLEY
Anchorage Daily News

Published: December 10, 2005
Last Modified: December 10, 2005 at 08:50 PM


An unhappy 29-year Anchorage postal employee may have put as much as $400,000 worth of bulk mail into the postal system without charging customers for it, according to charges filed with U.S. District Court.


The employee, Michael Sargent, 47, was charged Friday with stealing and disposing of public records. Assistant U.S. attorney Retta Randall argued he should not be released to the custody of his family while he awaits trial because he could be considered dangerous due to mental illness, alcohol abuse, a penchant for weapons and a history of making threats.

"He is a disgruntled public employee," Randall said. "Access to weapons is of concern."

Sargent, who owns the firearm business Arctic Specialty Enterprises, is a gun dealer with a federal permit, she said. A search of his Dimond-area house, conducted as part of the postal investigation, revealed a cache of 66 firearms, including a machine gun and silencers.

Sargent's parents, Bill and Jean Sargent, were at the courthouse in downtown Anchorage on Friday. They would not comment about their son on the advice of their attorney, assistant federal defender Mary Geddes.

Sargent handled bulk mail for the U.S. Postal Service for 15 years before he was arrested Thursday. He began accepting mail without charging for it in September 2004, according to charges. He was filmed 13 times putting postal papers in his briefcase without recording them in the computer after receiving bulk mail at the post office near the international airport.

Bulk mail can include brochures and other business mailings that are sent to a large number of people for a bulk rate that is cheaper than regular postage.

Sargent joked with co-workers that his best friend was "T.C.," or trash can, according to charging documents. He mentioned to a co-worker that he would like to see the Postal Service go bankrupt. In December, after he was passed over for a promotion, he became angry and took five weeks of vacation time, the documents said.

Soon, business mail customers began calling to ask why they hadn't been charged, and other employees noticed mail hadn't been properly recorded. An investigation by postal managers revealed that at least 84 mailings had bypassed the system, representing $106,714 of lost revenue. Employees contacted customers and were able to recover that money.

Sargent also carried empty firearm shell casings to work on more than one occasion, showing them to customers and colleagues, according to a female co-worker. When she would tell him his mistakes could get him fired, he would pull out the empty casings and say, "Well then this one's for you, this one's for you, this one's for you ..." while pointing at her and other employees, the court papers said.

"He told the same woman she should take a vacation if he ever got fired," Randall said.

In early November, investigators searched Sargent's trash at home and found envelopes of Postal Service statements and a spreadsheet, printed on his home printer, that showed a running list of mailings that he'd caused to bypass the system, totalling $ 436, 919.

Randall said that, during the recent home search, the only content of the refrigerator was several bottles of Bailey's Irish Cream liquor, and many empty bottles were found in the trash.

"The condition of the house was not conducive to someone living there," she said. "The presence of the five cats was very obvious."

Investigators were also concerned because the weapons were not under lock and key, she said.

Sargent lost his job in 1995 after he was charged with harassment of another postal employee. He did community service, and the charges were dismissed, Randall said. At the time, a psychological evaluation revealed he was suffering from depression, alcohol abuse and had some signs of obsessive compulsive disorder.

"He challenged his suspension, so he got his job back," Randall said. "The question that isn't answered is how he had or kept the (firearms) permit with a mental health history."

Mental illness alone does not keep someone from qualifying for a federal firearms dealer permit, unless the person is committed to a mental health institution by a judge, according to Bradley Earman with the local office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Cathy Phillips, manager of marketing for the Alaska district of the U.S. Postal Service, would not comment on the pending case. Sargent is on leave without pay, she said.

Sargent faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.


Mail clerk and part time gun dealer.  Interesting career combo.

He would have gone postal.

I like the empty casing thing
kinda funny a postal employee / FFL*



* no offense to the many sane postal employees here on ARFcom

Quoted: Sargent also carried empty firearm shell casings to work on more than one occasion, showing them to customers and colleagues, according to a female co-worker. When she would tell him his mistakes could get him fired, he would pull out the empty casings and say, "Well then this one's for you, this one's for you, this one's for you ..." while pointing at her and other employees, the court papers said. "He told the same woman she should take a vacation if he ever got fired," Randall said.

What fucking balls.

Crazy as motherfucker but hilarious.

Quoted: I like the empty casing thing

"This one's for you!!!"

Go drink some more Baily's, Francis...

He is not just a ffl . He does NFA .
In fact if I am not mistaken the machingun and silencer belong to two different Arfcommers waiting on paper work clearance .

So is that woman taking a vacation?

haha, what a bona fide nut, good thing he was busted for just sending mail for free. Making those kind of comments is a big no-no, especially in a post office!

Going Postal

Read one or two of the letters.

Quoted: He is not just a ffl . He does NFA . In fact if I am not mistaken the machingun and silencer belong to two different Arfcommers waiting on paper work clearance .

tag

Quoted: Quoted: He is not just a ffl . He does NFA . In fact if I am not mistaken the machingun and silencer belong to two different Arfcommers waiting on paper work clearance . tag

Tag nothing hit the AK hometown forum . We been talking about this for a week or so now .

Mike is good shit.  Have shot with him at the AMGA shoots.

So that's why one of our guns was returned and we couldn't find out why. Hell, it was even pre-paid.

Oh well, people do stupid shit.

"the only content of the refrigerator was several bottles of Bailey's Irish Cream liquor, and many empty bottles were found in the trash."

He must have been on a diet.

Quoted: Mike is good shit.  Have shot with him....

Wow! Did he smell like Baileys? Did he offer to ship all your Christmas gifts free this year? What's his screen name?

SKICH?

Which post office in Anchorage did he work at?!  Muldoon?  Airport?  





Crazy ass MoFo!