ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis postal worker is accused of dumping at least 30,000 pieces of mail in vacant lots since 2024, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Armond Paige, 54, of St. Louis, was indicted on Sept. 2 on one count of delay or destruction of mail by a postal employee.
Paige, a postal carrier, worked out of the Maryville Gardens Post Office on Meramec Street in south St. Louis, KSDK reported. He appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty.
According to the indictment, Paige is accused of dumping mail in “vacant, weedy lots” instead of delivering it.
From 2024 until April 29, 2026, Paige trashed at least 30,000 pieces of mail in the vacant lots, the indictment states.
The mail was discovered “destroyed by dirt and water damage,” and “exposed to the elements,” according to court documents obtained by People.
The St. Louis-area has faced rising criticism over delayed, stolen and lost mail, according to KSDK. A U.S. Postal Service Inspector General audit last summer found that one St. Louis distribution center had more than 2.5 million pieces of delayed mail in one day, the television station reported. That broke a record for the largest mail backlog in USPS audit history.
If convicted, Paige could face up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said.