DEPUTIES ARREST 2 IN MAIL FRAUD TARGETING RETIREES.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

Two people suspected of diverting mail from retired Los Angeles County workers were arrested after sheriff's deputies found mail belonging to others at a Duarte residence, sheriff's officials said.

The investigation began about a month ago when the widow of former Antelope Valley Sheriff's Station commander Tony Welch realized she wasn't getting all of her mail, officials said.

"She hadn't received her TV Guide," said sheriff's Lt. Dan Reidder. "It always comes on time and she hadn't gotten it for two weeks."

When Ingrid Welch went to the post office to inquire about her mail, she was told that someone had filed a change of address for her husband and that all of his mail was being forwarded to a Duarte address.

"She knew she hadn't filled one out and she knew her husband hadn't filled one out," said Reidder, a family friend who was contacted by Welch.

Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Temple Station were able to trace the forwarding address to the home of Mischelle Peace, 36, where they discovered Welch's mail along with mail from a retired sergeant and a retired health services employee.

Peace is being held at Sybil Brand Institute for Women in Los Angeles in lieu of $20,000 bail on suspicion of receiving stolen property. Deputies later arrested Kenneth Turrentine, 36, of Pasadena on numerous charges, including grand theft, filing out fraudulent credit applications and possession of a check known to be false.

"We believe these two people are the key players in this," said Irma Gonzales, of the Forgery Fraud Detail who is investigating the case with sheriff's deputies.

According to Gonzales, Pace and Turrentine would collect the mail and then attempt to apply for credit in the name of the three employees. Within a few weeks, the two had made purchases totaling close to $4,000.

Peace and Turrentine had purchased $2,800 in items at Target using a credit card under Welch's name and about $200 at a J.C. Penney store.

"We don't believe it is connected with the postal service," said Gonzales, who said the only connection they found was that a former boyfriend of Peace worked for the U.S. Postal Service.

In an effort to prevent future incidents like this, postal officials are testing a program in Texas in which verification cards are sent to postal customers who file changes of addresses.

"We do get these types of incidents," said Terri Bouffiou, a postal spokeswoman. "Sometimes people do it to annoy people, but mostly it's done with criminal intent."