Ky. postal worker gets prison for stashing 44K pieces of mail

OWENSBORO, Ky. - A former United States Postal Service employee has been sentenced to six months in prison followed by six months of house arrest for destroying, hiding and delaying the delivery of at least 44,900 pieces of mail.

U.S. Chief Judge Joseph H. McKinley also ordered 34-year-old William "Brent" Morse of Dawson Springs, Ky. to pay $14,808.01 for losses suffered by residents, a local bank and two businesses which attempted to mail commercial circulars.

Morse, who was a postal worker for five years, admitted that between March 2011 and March 30, 2013 he destroyed at least 1,000 pieces of mail and stored at least 44,900 pieces of mail at his deceased mother's home and at rented storage facilities in Dawson Springs.

"He wanted to speed up his route," said city police Capt. Craig Patterson, who arrested him last year. "I think he was lazy."

According to Adel Valdes, a U.S. Postal Inspector in Louisville, Morse had a motivation for his criminal acts: "He wanted to pick up his kids from school every day at a certain time," reported CNN.

Valdes said the owner of one of the storage centers noticed a large amount of mail and USPS equipment when Morse failed to properly shut his unit's door, so he called authorities, reported the station.

The majority of the mail was meant for Dawson Springs. The recovered mail has since been delivered.