Staten Island Postal Worker Accused Of Hoarding Mail He Was Supposed To Deliver

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A U.S. Postal worker in Staten Island was charged Friday with dumping mail in his girlfriend's apartment and never delivering it to its intended recipients.

Taurean Hawkins had been working as a mail carrier with the Postal Service since September of last year, and was assigned to the Stapleton Station post office on Staten Island, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

On Jan. 21, the Postal Inspector General's office learned that undelivered mail had been stashed at Hawkins' girlfriend's apartment on Warren Street in Staten Island, where Hawkins was living at the time, the complaint said.

Postal Inspector General's agents went to the Warren Street address and found the undelivered mail, the complaint said. The same day, they interviewed Hawkins, who allegedly said he did not deliver the mail on his route for several days in December and just left it in the apartment, the complaint said.

In total, Hawkins failed to deliver 544 pieces of mail -- 227 of which were first-class items, the complaint said. All the undelivered items were postmarked between Dec. 11 and Dec. 13, the complaint said.

Hawkins was released from custody Thursday on $10,000 bail, according to a New York Daily News report.