ORLANDO, Fla. — A USPS worker is being accused of dumping more than 400 pieces of political mail and a ballot in the woods.
Ottis McCoy Jr. was hired as a part-time employee for a contract delivery company back in August to deliver mail on a route in Orlando. In October, one of his managers suspected he may have "disposed" of the mail rather than delivering it when McCoy finished his route earlier than expected.
The manager helped McCoy load a large amount of mail into his mail van on the morning of Oct. 22 and was suspicious when he finished early, according to federal court records from the Middle District of Florida.
The owner of the delivery company checked the tracking device for the mail van and noticed that McCoy deviated from his route that day and ended up in a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood. The manager went to the area where McCoy had been and saw several pieces of mail in the woods of a lot at the end of the street.
Photos from the area show numerous envelops and other pieces of mail littered in the brush.
Postal inspectors collected more than 1,000 pieces of mail including more than 400 pieces of political mail and one election ballot, according to the criminal complaint.
A nearby surveillance camera from a house captured the incident and showed McCoy arriving at the lot at 5:14 p.m. on Oct. 22 and throwing large quantities of the mail into the woods, according to federal court documents.
McCoy is being charged with stealing mail, and if convicted, can face a fine and/or spend up to five years in prison, according to Cornell Law School.
Anyone who suspects mail theft or the destruction of mail can report it to the Office of the Inspector General for USPS through the hotline.