So that's where our Sharper Image catalog went!

Brazoria officials had been after ex-mail carrier Russell Meuth for months about the trash in his back yard — not only was the yard junky, but there were reports of smoke there a couple weeks ago, a violation of a city ordinance and county burn ban. But when officials got a search warrant and went into the yard over the weekend, they were surprised at what they found: several containers of chemicals and 34 U.S. Postal Service boxes full of undelivered mail. Some of the chemicals may have been taken from a nearby Dow Chemical plant, and the mail seems to date from 2003, when Meuth delivered mail in Brazoria.

"There was lots and lots of mail," [Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne] said. "It appeared that all of the envelopes were opened and the contents taken out."

"There were envelopes from the Social Security Administration, envelopes that appeared to be utility company payments, all sorts of things," Yenne said.

"This is the worst kind of voyeurism," she said.

The chemicals are being analyzed in a lab, and postal authorities are investigating the mail side of the discovery. Meuth was charged with illegal burning and failure to identify, but be may face more serious state and federal charges.