Sacramento USPS employee hit with federal charges for obstructing delivery of political mail
By Nijzel Dotson
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SACRAMENTO (KCRA) — Federal charges have been filed against a Sacramento postal employee, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. The employee is accused of delaying and obstructing the delivery of political campaign mail.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 35-year-old Antoine Rashad Polite was employed as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Sacramento County and was responsible for the delivery of mail along a specific route.
According to court documents, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, Polite improperly withheld and delayed the delivery of hundreds of pieces of political mail intended for residents on his route between Sept. 23 and Oct. 27. This included campaign materials relating to candidates and ballot propositions appearing on the Nov. 3 election ballot.
When postal management discovered approximately 493 pieces of political mail placed in an area designated for undeliverable bulk business mail, an investigation began, officials said. Those pieces of mail were supposed to go to deliverable addresses on Polite’s route.
An additional 527 pieces of political mail were found in “undeliverable mail” containers inside Polite’s postal vehicle, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Many of the pieces of mail were reportedly labeled as vacant or undeliverable and had the addresses marked through despite postal officials determining the addresses were valid and deliverable.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said postal officials recovered and delivered the vast majority of the mail the intended recipients.
Polite is facing a maximum penalty of six months in prison for obstruction of mail and one year in prison for the delay or destruction of mail.
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