Postal worker ran drug trafficking scheme during disability leave in Georgia, feds say
Atlanta prosecutors say a postal worker smuggled drugs through mail packages for years, and when disability leave prevented his deliveries, he recruited co-workers.
Court documents allege that in 2014 the man, from East Point, Georgia, was an employee for the United States Postal Service when he began delivering packages of cocaine and marijuana to an accused local drug trafficker ”in exchange for bribes.”
In 2016, feds say, he was on disability leave and unable to make the special deliveries. Bribed with cash and weed, the 60-year-old man is accused of enticing two of his co-workers, also mail carriers, to make three deliveries each.
McClatchy News reached out to his lawyer and did not immediately receive comment.
“The vast majority of Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking individuals who would never dream of violating the public trust in this manner,” Scott Pierce, special agent in charge at the USPS Office of Inspector General, said in the Department of Justice’s news release. “An employee who decides otherwise, however, will be aggressively investigated by OIG special agents.”
The two other mailmen involved, as well as the drug trafficker, were convicted to years-long prison sentences in 2018, according to officials.
The former postman pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and unlawfully using mail for the crime. His sentencing is set for Nov. 3.
If you or a loved one shows signs of substance use disorder, you can seek help by calling the national hotline at 1-800-662-4357 or find treatment using SAMHSA's online locator.
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