Virginia mailman hoards 4,935 pieces of mail to deliver ‘when he found time,’ feds say
A U.S. Postal Service worker in Virginia overwhelmed by his route hid thousands of pieces of mail in a storage unit for months, federal prosecutors said.
He told investigators he initially planned to deliver the mail — but never got around to it.
Court documents show Jason Delacruz pleaded guilty to one count of delaying or destroying mail or newspapers in November — a felony offense punishable with up to five years in prison, federal law dictates. He is due for sentencing on Feb. 12.
Delacruz was hired as a postal carrier in Chesapeake, Virginia, in June 2018, prosecutors said in documents filed alongside his guilty plea. He started hoarding mail less than six months later.
Prosecutors said Delacruz told them he “can’t make time” and was “pressured” to finish his delivery route but couldn’t.
So he rented a storage unit in Virginia Beach for $49 a month and started depositing mail there, prosecutors said. Someone took pictures of Delacruz and his vehicle when he dropped off a load on May 29, 2019 and reported it.
When agents with the USPS Office of Inspector General searched the unit, they found a trove of undelivered letters, bills and statements, including:
- 17 bundles of advertisements
- 97 pieces of first-class mail from the Department of Motor Vehicles, insurance companies, the IRS and banks
- 115 pieces of second-class mail, including magazines
- 4,723 pieces of assorted advertisements
- Six bundles of coupons from RetailMeNot; and
- One package
“He first intended to deliver the mail when he found time, but fell behind and was never able to,” Delacruz reportedly told investigators.
USPS delivered the first-class mail that was found but threw away the advertisements — most of which were expired, prosecutors said.
A grand jury indicted Delacruz in August, court documents show. USPS told CNN he resigned in 2019 after 14 months of employment.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Virginia mailman hoards 4,935 pieces of mail to deliver ‘when he found time,’ feds say."
