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MAN SENT DOG MESS TO POLICE

A Royal Mail van driver sent four parcels of dog excrement to police after officers raided his Southville home. Franco Ippolito, 52, of Raleigh Road, launched his obscene campaign after Avon and Somerset police refused to pay compensation for an umbrella stand he claimed was damaged during the search of his property.

He used his security clearance to get the offensive packages through the sorting office in Filton without arousing the suspicions of staff.

Ippolito, who had worked as a postman for more than 17 years, was caught when forensic experts discovered his DNA on the back of postage stamps he licked before sending off the packages.

His fingerprints were also found on the adhesive side of sticky tape used to seal one of the boxes, Bristol Magistrates' Court was told yesterday .

When it emerged he was facing a criminal investigation, he quit his job.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to a 12-month community penalty and ordered to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work as punishment.

The court heard how three police officers went to Ippolito's home in April last year to look for evidence after his son was arrested in unconnected matters.

They had to force entry to the property when the postman refused to let them in. It was during this scuffle that Ippolito claimed his indoor umbrella stand was broken. He later put in a claim for £55 in compensation, but police officials turned it down, saying his refusal to let officers into his home had led to the damage.

This sparked Ippolito's vendetta and in February this year he sent his first parcel of dog faeces to the officers. As well as the foul-smelling contents, he also soaked the cardboard box with urine.

He sent another package later the same month and two more in April.

When police searched his home, they found a list of the officers' names who had been sent the parcels. They also found a dog's basket in the house and packaging similar to that used to send the excrement.

Damien Hayes, prosecuting, said: "A civilian worker who opened the parcels said that the series of packages went through the police force's post room. She said they were foul smelling, sickening and possibly damaging to her health."

Ippolito pleaded guilty to four charges of sending an indecent and offending article through the post at an earlier hearing and was yesterday sentenced after magistrates asked for probation officers to prepare a report suggesting the most suitable punishment.

District Judge David Parson also ordered Ippolito to pay £55 in costs, adding: "I have given him credit for his guilty plea and the fact that he is out of employment."

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I like the irony that he was ordered to pay costs of exactly the amount that he was claiming from the police in the first place?  I'm not quite sure why he was given credit for being unemployed though.  Next time I'm arrested, I think I'll quit my job to see if it helps.

Now then Stead... where's that crossbow of yours?