NJ Mail Carrier Admits to Throwing Away Mail, Including General Election Ballots

A mail carrier in New Jersey admitted Thursday that he threw away mail, including 99 general election ballots sent to West Orange residents, according to federal prosecutors.

Nicholas Beauchene, 26, of Kearny, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of desertion of mails.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced that Beauchene, a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier from Hudson County, admitted he discarded mail, including 99 general election ballots sent from the Essex County Board of Elections to West Orange, New Jersey, residents, from his assigned routes in Orange and West Orange.

According to court documents, Beauchene admitted that on Sept. 28, Oct. 1, and Oct. 2, 2020, he threw 1,875 pieces of mail into dumpsters in North Arlington and West Orange that he was assigned to deliver to residents in West Orange and Orange. This mail allegedly included 627 pieces of first-class mail, 873 pieces of standard class mail, 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.

Law enforcement recovered the mail on Oct. 2 and Oct. 5, 2020, and placed it back into the mail stream for delivery, according to prosecutors.

Beauchene will be sentenced at a later date. The desertion of mail charge is punishable by a maximum of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.