"The U.S. Postal Service did not receive a single complaint from Padgett's customers about missing mail "

I wonder how many complaints they received from the advertisers that PAID the US Postal service to do their job??

your point is valid, but nobody should shed a tear for pottery barn. nobody would notice if pottery barn and their catalogs vanished.

"i need one of them old lookin' phones" - jerry seinfeld

This is a dumb story. "A man broke the law. Should he be punished?"

companies that send junk mail should be fined. there are staggering statistics on the environmental impact of it. something like 40lbs of junk mail is sent to the average american every year and half of it ends up in landfills without even being opened. credit card offers should also be illegal. this guy's a hero if he was actually able to accurately sort the mail.