USPS worker allegedly had undelivered mail in his trunk, including ballots, at US-Canada border
United States Postal Service (USPS) trucks are parked at a postal facility on August 15, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
FOX NEWS - A U.S. Postal Service worker was arrested in New York at the Canadian border allegedly with undelivered mail in his trunk, including three absentee ballots mailed by the Erie County Board of Elections, according to a report.
On Tuesday night, Border agents allegedly found 800 pieces of undelivered mail, including 106 political mailings, 220 first-class mailings and 484 standard mailings, in the trunk of Brandon Wilson's car.
Wilson, 27, who has been employed by the postal service since 2019, was charged with delaying or destroying mail.
"This office is committed not only to ensuring the integrity of the mails, but also of individuals' rights to vote in a free and fair election," U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. said in a written statement. "The criminal conduct with which this defendant is alleged to have engaged undermined both of those interests."
He was caught after a wrong turn led him to the Peace Bridge at a border crossing with Canada.
He is accused of lying, saying the mail belonged to him and his mother, according to the complaint filed by a special agent for the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General.
"Beginning in September 2020, Wilson estimated he placed mail from his delivery routes into the trunk of his vehicle on more than four but less than 10 instances after returning to the post office from his assigned route," special agent Brendan M. Boone wrote in the complaint. "Wilson intended to whittle down the amount of mail in the trunk of his vehicle by placing a small amount of the mail into USPS mis sort containers in the morning before his shift began. Wilson last reintroduced mailings into the mail stream in this fashion approximately three weeks prior [to] the date of the interview."
Wilson faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
"The vast majority of the United States Postal Service's more than 630,000 employees are committed to ensuring the security of the United States mail," said Desai Abdul-Razzaaq, spokesman for the Postal Service in Buffalo.