NEWARK, N.J. – A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mailman from Kearny was placed under arrest on Wednesday. His alleged crime: dumping nearly 2,000 pieces of mail including 99 mail-in ballots for the November election destined for West Orange voters.
The original dumped mail story was first reported by The New Jersey Globe.
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Nicholas Beauchene, age 26, faces on count of delay, secretion, or detention of mail and a second count of obstruction of mail.
“Approximately 1,875 pieces of mail – including 627 pieces of first class, 873 pieces of standard class, two pieces of certified mail, 99 general election ballots destined for residents in West Orange, and 276 campaign flyers from local candidates for West Orange Town Council and Board of Education – were recovered from dumpsters in North Arlington and West Orange on Oct. 2, 2020, and Oct. 5, 2020,” explained the U.S. Attorney’s Office in its filings. “The mail had been scheduled to be delivered on Sept. 28, Oct. 1, and Oct. 2, 2020, to addresses on certain postal routes in Orange and West Orange. On the delivery dates for which mail was recovered, Beauchene was the only mail carrier assigned to deliver mail to the addresses on the recovered mail.”
The dumped mail has since been delivered to the residents for which it was intended.
Beauchene faces a total possible sentence of up to 5 1/2 years in prison and a $255,000 in fines.
