A postman who stole more than 200 items of mail has been spared jail after a court heard he had been trying to save his daughter from a loan shark.
Michael Chadwick, 55, had an unblemished record of more than 19 years at the Royal Mail depot in Rochdale before he began the thefts last summer.
He was caught after Royal Mail investigators set a trap using test parcels – some of which were found in his car.
Rochdale magistrates court heard stolen items including rare stamps and shopping vouchers were offered for sale by his daughter on the internet.
Chadwick was given a suspended prison sentence after his solicitor said he had stolen to help his daughter out of financial difficulties.
Donald Owen, defending, said Chadwick’s daughter was under the grip of ‘some form of loan shark’.
Bernadette Hynes, prosecuting for Royal Mail, said Chadwick told police he was ‘totally ashamed’. She said: “He said his daughter had come to him and needed this and that. He opened the postal packets looking for money for her.”
Chadwick, of Howarth Cross Street, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to stealing 29 postal packets on March 18 and to a charge of stealing a quantity of postal packets between July 2009 and March 18 this year.
Investigators were alerted after a man reported he had not received some rare stamps. Similar stamps were discovered for sale by Chadwick’s daughter, Pamela, on the internet.
Thirty-nine greeting cards were also reported missing between July 2009 and June 2010. Police recovered more than 200 packages from her father’s loft. Another 27, including two of the test parcels, were found in his car and 29 in his postal bag.
Mr Owen said Miss Chadwick had ‘bled dry’ Chadwick and his wife. Chadwick was sentenced to six weeks in prison for each offence to run concurrently, suspended for 12 months.
They ordered him to do 150 hours’ unpaid work and pay £350 costs.
Chairman of the Bench Glenda Wilde said: “These offences are very, very serious. The public must have complete trust in postal workers."
Chadwick has since resigned from his job, the court was told.
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Two wrongs don't make a right. This man's no better than the loan shark. He's robbed greeting cards, no doubt with hard earned cash as presents inside them. He should be locked up with the other theives. And where's the charges against his dopey daughter for handling stolen goods?
Its a shame we don't have complete trust in the courts. I'm sorry but my daughetr needed money is not a good enough reason to have items of post stolen. Only yesterday I had a card delivered in a sealed bag appologising that the card had been damaged in the post. It was obvious that some scum bag like this man had opened it to see if there was any money inside it. This man should have been sent to prison. He is a common theif.
Chairman of the Bench Glenda Wilde said: “These offences are very, very serious. The public must have complete trust in postal workers.
So why such a light sentence ? There seems to be a trend in Manchester for inadequate sentencing at the moment, are the jails full again ?
Lock him up, then lock up his daughter. Theiving Scroats they must be laughing their heads off this morning.
A theft is a theft whatever the mitigating evidence and should be treated as such by the law..
If this excuse is true then it begs the question why the loan shark was not reported to the useless brigade, and whether they actually did anything about it. If it hasn't been reported then there's no excuse.
This sentence is quite tough compared to some of the other theiving posties reported in the MEN. I'm sure the one who stole the mobiles didn't get a sentence this heavy.
Rammylad if you'd care to put your hand in your pocket & pay double the amount of tax which would be needed to provide prison places for everyone you'd like to see banged up, then go find a political party who supports you. I can't see what kind of danger Chadwick poses to the public and on that basis a prison term is probably inappropriate.
Why didnt he just give her his wages then! or sell his TV, DVD, etc! Shame on you Mr Postie.
only by giving a custodial sentence will it stop men like this guy from stealing mail. So many people I know have had items opened or not arrived at all.
Shame on the postal workers who bring a bad name to the vast majority of honest postman
is miss chawick to be charged???she seems a devious woman with a lame excuse
Of course he should have got a custodial sentence, there was no excuse for what he did. Plus why did he resign , why wasn't he sacked ?
If Postman Pat knew that Jess his black and white cat had run in to trouble with loan sharks I doubt he would have stolen post from the good people of Greendale.
I can't imagine that Mrs Goggins the local postmistress would have ever had the slightest concern that the attitude of Patrick Cliffton (Postman Pat) would have been less than that of an utmost professional.
Its his high standard of morals that have seen him promoted to the 'Special Delivery Service' in nearby Pencaster and a possible reason why he still has the admiration of his wife Sara and his only child Julian.
Maybe if the people in charge such as Ben Taylor the General Manager of the Pencaster Sorting Office who works with Pat for the Special Delivery Service.could use Pat as a shining example of what can be achieved in the field of mail delivery then this type of incident would have never happened.
I can only imagine what Major Forbes would have said to this man but I guess he would have had a few choice words..
Can we now expect to see his daughter appear in court on charges of 'handling stolen goods'? She was actively selling the stolen goods on the internet.
I'm sick to death of having mail items disappear before they reach me. It's beyond a joke, and unless these corrupt, dishonest postal workers are dealt with properly, it will continue.
The last time one of my items was 'lost' in the post, (valued at £29.99) I was offered a book of stamps by way of 'compensation'. Ridiculous. Get real.
His daughter was in trouble with a loan shark, she sold the stuff on the internet, interesting to see she could afford a computer, bet she has a flat screen TV, holidays abroad and a nice car.
how many times do we read of postmen not delivering mail or dumping it, this man has more than likely stole thousands before being caught,it seems like easy pickings for some of these postmen don't they stop and think of the people that have had to work hard to send a gift for it not to arrive. also why did't his daughter get extra work and pay off her own debt if she does work.
Loan sharking is illegal. Why has that aspect not been investigated?
Possibly because it’s not true.
Stealing "The Royal mail" is a serious offence that should bring the maximum sentence for the thieves that bite the hand that feeds them.I recently had theft commtted during the delivery of mail & it was a truamatic for us,but not for the thieving ---- who committed the offence...The loan shark story is b------t,no evidence,no proof & know one charged or even warned for loan sharking or any other offence so it should have been thrown out of court. Why is it innocent people have had to pay for these thefts.
SHOULD HAVE SENT HIM DOWN WITH ALL THE OTHER THEIVING SCUMBAGS, NO EXCUSES, NO EXCUSES.
thoughtful, I seriously doubt I would have to pay double my tax to lock a few scallys up, but I would get the money back through lower insurances and shop prices once crime fell and before you say crime would not fall, yes it would. Whilst a criminal is locked up he cannot steal. So I will pay the extra 0.01% on my tax bill to see 10 new prisons built (to a low standard hopefully), so we can lock up thieves such as this chap and his daughter.
[quote name=perlys, manchester]how many times do we read of postmen not delivering mail or dumping it, this man has more than likely stole thousands before being caught,it seems like easy pickings for some of these postmen don't they stop and think of the people that have had to work hard to send a gift for it not to arrive. also why did't his daughter get extra work and pay off her own debt if she does work.[/quote]
It is a positive thing that we read about maybe five or six crooked postmen a year. That is because Royal Mail always prosecute. It is actually a low figure if you compare it to, say, shop workers that steal, who usually just get sacked and not widely shamed.
lock him up....
So good news for any other bent postman who might fancy stealing mail to subsidise his income. As long as he can think up a touching excuse if he gets caught, he will only face a suspended sentence.
Why did his daughter let the situation get so bad that she ended up with a loan shark on her back?...No excuse he did the crime so should do the time typical of todays society you commit a crime then get off with it scott free ...No wonder people commit offences these days you seem to be able to get away with it
HarrysMate - was the book of stamps you were offered by any chance quite old looking with postmarks on them? Could be they were someone else's rare mail-order purchase :-(
thief
Well written this man!