Postal Worker Accused Of Throwing Away Mail In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A mail mystery in Queens apparently has been solved with the arrest of a postal worker.
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported, investigators said he took extreme measures to leave work early several Fridays this summer.
Many residents of Woodside, Queens had an empty feeling this summer.
"The system failed us," one woman from the neighborhood said.
On repeated Fridays, the residents received no mail. Customers complained, and supervisors at the post office began to question mail carrier Timothy Valentin.
At first, Valentin told superiors an unusually large number of mailboxes on his route were blocked and he couldn't reach them.
They did not buy his explanation – especially after finding more than 750 pieces of mail in a dumpster. Valentin was supposed to deliver those pieces of mail.
"He's a jerk!" a man said.
Customers are understandably peeved. But Valentin's father was asking for understanding.
"He's a good kid. And he's very sorry for it. He's apologetic. He's very apologetic," said Edgardo Valentin.
The postal worker's father said a child care issue put his son in a difficult spot, and he made a bad decision to ditch the mail in order to leave work early.
"Especially Fridays -- he had to get out early to go pick up his child," Edgardo Valentin.
But residents were not pleased.
"Post office workers work really long hours, but to throw away mail is not cool," said Inessa Spencer of Sunnyside, "especially if you're waiting for a check or something important."
Inspectors got to the bottom of the delay, and customers were glad – more or less.
"The bills come - one by one - they come," a resident said.
But if convicted of failing to deliver and dumping the mail, Valentin faces up to five years in prison.