BELLFAIR, Wash., Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A Washington postal carrier who pleaded guilty to delaying or destroying mail meant for delivery was sentenced to 120 hours of community service and a $25 fine.
Richard Farrell, 45, of Bellfair, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier since 1991, was found in 2010 to have hoarded 8,000 letters in his apartment and to have burned other mail to avoid delivery duties, Seattlepi.com reported Thursday.
The Postal Service followed Farrell on his route after fellow employees discovered mail dumped in a recycling bin, including letters he was to deliver. Investigators observed him spend working hours at a bar before taking the mail home and burning it in a fire pit.
"His conduct reflects extreme laziness and a complete lack of consideration for the customers that he serviced. Farrell repeatedly made the decision that he would rather spend his work hours not working, covering up his crime by stoking a fire pit with the very mail that he was supposed to be delivering," Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Woods said.
Farrell's attorney, Linda Sullivan, said he owed "substantial" back taxes and the IRS was garnishing his wages.
"He indicates that the IRS took about 90 percent of his regular pay, leaving him with very little to live on," Sullivan said. "He became very frustrated with this situation and began to feel that he was simply working for nothing. His frustration and anger with the Postal Service got the better of him and he began not delivering all of the mail, in an effort to trim his workload."
