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Postal worker arrested after police find 17,000 pieces of undelivered mail

NEW YORK — A New York City postal worker was arrested Thursday after 17,000 pieces of undelivered mail were found in his car, apartment and locker, authorities said.

Aleksey Germash, who has worked for the U.S. Postal Service for more than 16 years, possessed undelivered mail since 2005, WPIX reported. He told investigators he held onto the mail because he was overwhelmed by how much mail he had to deliver. Germash said he delivered "the important stuff," WPIX reported.

Postal officials said they found 10,000 pieces of undelivered mail in his car, 6,000 in his apartment and another 1,000 in his locker. An investigation began when USPS officials found 20 full bags in his car Wednesday, WPIX reported. He was arrested the following day.

Germash is not the first postal worker to hold onto mail. Agents arrested a Long Island letter carrier earlier this month after they found dozens of bags filled with undelivered mail behind his home.

Earlier this month, an Indiana mail carrier was charged with throwing away or holding onto thousands of pieces of mail. In February, a postal carrier in Florida refused to deliver packages inside the gates of a nudist resort.