Ex-postal worker sentenced for dumping Onondaga County mail in field 100 miles away

Syracuse, N.Y. — An ex-postal worker was sentenced Wednesday after being accused of dumping more than 5,000 pieces of mail meant for people in Onondaga County in a field about 100 miles away, federal prosecutors said.

Tanner Brown, 25, of Cobleskill, previously pleaded guilty to one felony count of delaying the mail, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.

He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, prosecutors said.

Brown admitted that between January and July 2019 he failed to deliver 5,833 pieces of mostly first-class mail intended for people in Onondaga County, federal prosecutors said.

Instead of delivering the mail he drove it to Sharon Springs in Schoharie County and dumped some of it in a grassy field and the rest in a wooded area under a pile of tires, federal prosecutors said. That’s 100 miles from Syracuse (an hour and a half drive) but only 13 miles away from his home in Cobleskill.

When agents recovered the mail, it was found to be wet, dirty and covered in bugs, federal prosecutors said. The mail that could be recovered was eventually delivered, they said.

Brown also was ordered to serve 100 hours of community service, federal prosecutors said.

Staff writer James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him at 914-204-2815 or jmcclendon@syracuse.com.

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