Raleigh mailman admits holding junk mail

RALEIGH -- A former Raleigh mailman has admitted he kept people's junk mail in storage bins in his garage or buried in his backyard.

Fifty-eight-year-old Steven Padgett pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to delaying the mail. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's sentenced in November. He would not talk to reporters after his guilty plea.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Padgett said he kept thousands of pieces of third-class mail instead of delivering them on his route in Apex.

Padgett's attorney, Andrew McCoppin said his client kept the mail because he was overwhelmed by the daily demands to deliver and collect mail on the strict schedule required by the U.S. Postal Service.

Postal agents have not found any first or second-class mail at Padgett's home.

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