PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

"The songs Mullins sings," Rock's report concluded, "Romero related he has never heard before."

Mullins concedes he was disciplined once before for singing a song by the rap group Salt-n-Pepa on the mailroom floor that, out of context, might be construed as explicit. It was called "Let's Talk About Sex." But he says those days are over.

"For the past month, month and a half, I haven't been singing any explicit songs," he insists. For instance, "Jimmy Buffett's `Let's Get Drunk and Screw'--I haven't been singing anything like that." And, he points out, it's not as though he doesn't know any offensive tunes. "I'm a songwriter," he says, "so I keep up with lyrics."

Besides, Mullins responds that it's Carol Ware who's harassing him. "Carol wants to be the object of desire," he says. "She would look at me, then stare down at my crotch like this"--his eyes drop--"then look back up at me."

Mullins's recent alleged misconduct has yet to be litigated. But law enforcement types say they're quickly tiring of the trouble at 20th Street.

"We're trying to get them to act like adults. What I consider this to be over there is very juvenile behavior," says Freeman, the postal inspector. "When I send my resources over to the downtown station to deal with juvenile delinquency, I have to take my men away from a bomb investigation we're working on."

"The city attorney's sick of them, and I'm sick of them," adds Rock. "I've got a $7,000 fraud case, and I'm spending all my time on this.

"There used to be a mediator," the detective continues. "I don't know where he went, but I don't care. I'm not a counselor. I don't take their bullshit."

Postmaster General Marvin Runyon recently penned an essay--distributed by his own agency to the media--about the U.S. Postal Service and its unfortunate reputation as a haven for the disgruntled. It simply isn't true, he said. Nevertheless, Runyon insisted that he is not about to turn his back on the problem of violence and disruptions in the workplace.

"The Postal Service is committed to this cause and to the security and well-being of every working person in the country," the postmaster assured his readers. "We look forward to working with the people of this nation to achieve that goal.