Maintenance Mechanic Patrick Edwards was recently working on sorting equipment at the Tucson, AZ, Processing and Distribution Center when he made a surprising discovery:
A damaged envelope containing $1,000 in cash was caught in a gear, mere moments from destruction upon reactivation of the machine.
Edwards immediately turned the envelope and cash over to the plant manager’s office.
Postal inspectors determined that the cash was intentionally mailed — a practice discouraged by USPS — by a woman trying to send money to her daughter out of state.
When the customer claimed the cash on site, she was escorted to the service counter to purchase a money order to mail instead.
“There are many kinds of heroes,” said local Maintenance Operations Support Manager Mark Kleinberg. “Patrick’s honesty and integrity make him worthy of the designation.”