NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A former USPS mail carrier in New Jersey was convicted of bribery, fraud, and conspiracy charges, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Emerson Pavilus, 49, of Union, New Jersey, was convicted on Aug. 15 on charges of accepting bribes as a public official, conspiring to defraud the United States, and conspiring to possess and distribute controlled substances, according to Homeland Security Investigations.
“Pavilus abused his government position in a conspiracy to facilitate the delivery of parcels laden with dangerous narcotics to drug traffickers,” said acting HSI Newark Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker.
Pavilus, who worked as a mail carrier at the Flanders post office, engaged in illegal activities from 2015 to 2020, according to court documents. During this time, he allegedly accepted cash payments from unidentified individuals in exchange for helping them intercept packages containing illegal narcotics and other illicit materials.
Pavilus is also accused of providing his co-conspirators with addresses of vacant houses along his mail route, where they could ship illegal packages. He then removed these packages from the mail system and personally delivered them to his conspirators at locations other than the listed addresses, in return for bribe payments.