Federal authorities charged a former postal worker on Monday after he discarded mail, which they say included over 100 absentee ballots, in a dumpster outside of Louisville, Kentucky.
U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman said in a statement the U.S. Department of Justice charged 30-year-old DeShawn Bojgere with “delay or destruction of mail,” which is a federal crime. Bojgere is no longer a U.S. Postal Service employee.
“Especially in these times, Americans depend on the reliability and integrity of those that deliver the U.S. Mail,” said Coleman. “Conduct by Postal employees that violates that duty will result in swift federal prosecution.”
Former U.S. Postal Service worker charged with tossing dozens of absentee ballots and other mail that was found in a dumpster in Kentucky, the U.S. attorney’s office says. https://t.co/EmjiPZsVZd
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 27, 2020
The mail Bojgere is accused of dumping included roughly 111 absentee ballots from the Jefferson County clerk’s office, 69 mixed class pieces of mail, 320 second-class pieces and two campaign flyers, the statement said. Bojgere faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. (Over 100 Undelivered Absentee Ballots Discovered In Kentucky Dumpster)
Bojgere reportedly told U.S. Postal Service agents that he was responsible for dumping the mail at the construction site.
There have been several other incidents across the country where postal carriers have been accused with stealing or discarding election-related mail. Crystal Nicole Myrie — a 31-year-old postal worker in Miami, Florida — was charged with stealing one mail-in ballot and 36 political flyers, among over a hundred other pieces of mail, the Miami Herald reported. (RELATED: Mail Carrier Accused Of Stealing Ballot And Political Flyers)
“Incidents of this nature are exceedingly rare,” Postal Service Office of Inspector General special agent Scott Balfour told the Courier Journal after the dumped mail was originally found. He said a “vast majority of the Postal Service’s 630,000 employees are hard-working, trustworthy individuals who work around the clock to deliver the nation’s mail.”