--- description: 22,500 pieces of mail have been retrieved from a Philadelphia postman who began hoarding them over a year ago. title: Philadelphia Mailman Hoarded Over 22,000 Letters image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philadelphia Mailman Hoarded Over 22,000 Letters  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 23, 2015 8:32 PM CUT  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 23, 2015 8:32 PM CUT 22,500 pieces of mail have been retrieved from a Philadelphia postman who began hoarding them over a year ago. Patrick D’Ambrosio, 48, is accused of stealing mail and hiding it in his car and in his garage between May 2014 and January 2015, [according to a Department of Justice press release](http://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/philadelphia-man-charged-obstruction-mail "undefined"). He has been charged with one count of obstruction of mail and, if convicted, could face up to six months in prison. [Reuters reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/23/us-usa-pennsylvania-mail-idUSKCN0PX26H20150723?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews "undefined") that the stolen mail, which includes letters, periodicals and packages, is being sent to its original recipients, and that D’Ambrosio has been placed on non-duty status by the Postal Service. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3970150/mailman-stole-letters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3970150/mailman-stole-letters/"},"headline":"Philadelphia Mailman Hoarded Over 22,000 Letters","datePublished":"2015-07-23T20:32:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:32:32.119Z","description":"He could face up to six months in prison","url":"https://time.com/3970150/mailman-stole-letters/","keywords":["Crime","Pennsylvania"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3970150/mailman-stole-letters/","name":"Philadelphia Mailman Hoarded Over 22,000 Letters"}}]}] ```