Mailman delivering drugs?

Talk about a personal delivery! Gloucester, Mass. police say US Postal Service worker Stephen Hale, 30, sold OxyContin while on his mail delivery route.

Police busted him after allegedly finding drugs in his mail truck after investigators received information from sources about his dealing as well as using OxyContin while on duty. Hale's been suspended without pay by the postal service.

And what may be even worse, police say he was also caught with an opened birthday card that had been sent in the mail with ten dollars in it from a grandmother to her grandson. Hale is also accused of larceny for stealing that piece of mail. He was released on $5,000 bail.

So what has this escapade cost Hale in terms of personal salary? Starting pay is $19 an hour for part-time carriers, but the average full-time salary and benefits for postal workers was $63,771 per year, excluding corporate-wide expenses, in 2007, according to postalwork.net. Chances are, with 9 years experience under his belt, Hale was making a pretty good salary, which has just evaporated.

Take this as a lesson, kids: drugs don't pay.