Postman Arrested at Border for Allegedly Failing to Deliver Mail, Ballots

A postal worker was arrested Tuesday at the U.S.-Canadian border after agents allegedly found undelivered mail, including absentee ballots, in his car.

“The Buffalo mailman, who was caught with over 800 pieces of mail inside his trunk that he had failed to deliver, said he had ended up on a bridge between the US and its neighbor to the north by accident,” the New York Post reported.

Twenty-seven-year-old Brandon Wilson claimed he was in the wrong lane on Interstate 190 when he wound up on the bridge, the article read.

A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of New York detailed the events:

As part of a standard CBP vehicle sweep, Wilson opened the trunk of his vehicle for CBP Officers. A USPS mail bin containing numerous mail pieces was observed by a CBP officer inside the trunk. CBP officers also observed multiple USPS uniform items bearing the USPS logo along with a USPS identification badge with the defendant’s name.

Wilson stated the mail belonged to him and his mother. However, the defendant could not account for additional names printed on the mail pieces. Wilson further stated that he had intended to deliver the mail and had forgotten to return the mail pieces to the post office.

An inventory of the mail “revealed three absentee ballots sent to two Buffalo, NY, addresses from the Erie County, NY Board of Elections, 106 political mailings, 220 first class mailings, and 484 standard mailings for an approximate total of 813 mail pieces,” the release said.

Wilson reportedly told Postal Service agents that beginning in September, he placed the mail in his trunk “more than four but less than 10 times after completing his route,” according to the Associated Press (AP).

“He was going to whittle down the mail by placing it into USPS mis-sort containers,” the article read.

However, Wilson reportedly denied throwing away pieces of mail, stealing greeting cards, cash, or checks from the delivery route and also denied knowing about the ballots.

Following his arrest, Wilson was charged with delay or destruction of mail, which carries “a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine,” the attorney’s office said.