chicot60
01-21-2011, 12:38 PM
BELFAIR, Wash. -- He was hired to deliver the mail, but instead he hoarded, dumped and burned them.
http://media.komonews.com/images/110119_mailboxes.jpg
Prosecutors said Richard Farrell's "extreme laziness" caused him to hoard thousands of pieces of mail, then set them ablaze or throw them out.
Farrell pleaded guilty to delay or destruction of mail, and was sentenced Wednesday to three years on probation and 120 hours of community service.
Farrell, 45, began working for the U.S. Postal Service in 1991 as a contract mail delivery driver.
Allegations of misconduct surfaced last year when his fellow co-workers found him dumping letters he was suppose to deliver to Belfair residents in a recycling bin, according to court documents.
Investigators then followed Farrell on a route and learned instead of delivering the mail he spent the day at a tavern before taking the mail home and burning it in his fire pit.
"He would use mail to start the fire, then add mail to the fire to keep the fire going," said the plea agreement.
A search of his residence turned up nearly 8,000 pieces of mail in "34 tubs of mail...that were concealed underneath a blue tarp," according to the sentencing memo.
Farrell's attorney Linda Sullivan said the man owed the IRS large sums of money for not paying taxes, and his paycheck was being garnished on a regular basis. With little to live on, Farrell felt he was working for nothing, Sullivan said.
But that excuse doesn't sit well for people trying to protect their identity.
"I think it's messed up," said said Belfair resident Matthew Kunick. "I haven't gotten my unemployment check in a few days."
"It's a huge invasion of privacy, and I know I probably won't get a lot of my mail. I have a lot of bills that I'll probably be backed up on and hopefully I can get'em back," said resident Sam Newman.
As a part of his sentence, Farrell was also ordered to pay a $25 fine.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/114260529.html
http://media.komonews.com/images/110119_mailboxes.jpg
Prosecutors said Richard Farrell's "extreme laziness" caused him to hoard thousands of pieces of mail, then set them ablaze or throw them out.
Farrell pleaded guilty to delay or destruction of mail, and was sentenced Wednesday to three years on probation and 120 hours of community service.
Farrell, 45, began working for the U.S. Postal Service in 1991 as a contract mail delivery driver.
Allegations of misconduct surfaced last year when his fellow co-workers found him dumping letters he was suppose to deliver to Belfair residents in a recycling bin, according to court documents.
Investigators then followed Farrell on a route and learned instead of delivering the mail he spent the day at a tavern before taking the mail home and burning it in his fire pit.
"He would use mail to start the fire, then add mail to the fire to keep the fire going," said the plea agreement.
A search of his residence turned up nearly 8,000 pieces of mail in "34 tubs of mail...that were concealed underneath a blue tarp," according to the sentencing memo.
Farrell's attorney Linda Sullivan said the man owed the IRS large sums of money for not paying taxes, and his paycheck was being garnished on a regular basis. With little to live on, Farrell felt he was working for nothing, Sullivan said.
But that excuse doesn't sit well for people trying to protect their identity.
"I think it's messed up," said said Belfair resident Matthew Kunick. "I haven't gotten my unemployment check in a few days."
"It's a huge invasion of privacy, and I know I probably won't get a lot of my mail. I have a lot of bills that I'll probably be backed up on and hopefully I can get'em back," said resident Sam Newman.
As a part of his sentence, Farrell was also ordered to pay a $25 fine.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/114260529.html