ST. LOUIS, MO – September 26, 2026 (STL.News) A 28-year-old St. Louis man has pleaded guilty in federal court after admitting he offered a U.S. Postal Service carrier $20,000 for the mail in her truck and access to her postal route, an unusual bribery case unfolding amid a broader federal effort to combat mail theft and crimes targeting postal employees.
Ty-Hunter Collins, 28, pleaded guilty Wednesday, Sept. 23, to one count of bribery of a public official in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Federal court records identify the case as United States v. Ty-Hunter Collins, No. 4:26-cr-00103-ZMB. U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone accepted Collins’ guilty plea during a hearing in St. Louis. Court records show Collins was in custody at the time of the hearing.
The case stems from an encounter on Dec. 15, 2025, at West County Center in Des Peres.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Collins approached a uniformed postal carrier inside the JCPenney store as she returned to her postal vehicle.
Collins asked the carrier whether she would sell him both the mail inside her truck and her postal route for $20,000, according to admissions contained in his plea agreement.
He also showed the carrier a photograph of cash on his cellphone.
When the postal worker rejected the proposal, Collins increased the amount he offered, telling her he would give her $50,000 when everything was completed, according to federal prosecutors.
The carrier did not accept the offer. She left the mall instead and reported what happened.
Federal Court Accepted Collins’ Guilty Plea
The federal court docket provides additional information beyond the Justice Department’s announcement.
Collins appeared before Judge Bluestone for a change-of-plea hearing beginning at approximately 1:19 p.m. Sept. 23.
According to the court’s electronic minute entry, Collins took the stand and told the court he had completed some college. The court found him competent to enter a plea.
Collins then withdrew his previous not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the indictment. Judge Bluestone accepted the plea.
The docket shows that Collins is represented by attorney Andrew Cortopassi, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe appeared for the government.
The change-of-plea hearing lasted about 19 minutes, according to the federal court record.
A guilty plea agreement and a supplemental plea document were filed with the court the same day.
Earlier court records show that attorneys had notified the court that the case was expected to be resolved through a plea. Judge Bluestone consequently scheduled the Sept. 23 change-of-plea proceeding.
Collins Faces Sentencing in December
Collins is scheduled to return to federal court for sentencing at 1:45 p.m. Dec. 21, 2026, before Judge Bluestone in Courtroom 14-South in St. Louis.
The bribery charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Those figures represent the maximum penalties authorized by law and should not be interpreted as the sentence Collins will receive.
Federal sentencing involves multiple factors, and the court’s Sept. 23 entry specifically notes that the parties are expected to comply with the court’s sentencing procedures, including requirements concerning the Presentence Investigation Report and sentencing memoranda.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.
Why Would Someone Want an Entire Postal Route?
Federal authorities have not publicly stated what Collins planned to do with the mail, and the available court and Justice Department records reviewed by STL.News does not establish that the proposed purchase was part of a larger fraud or identity-theft operation.
That distinction is important.
However, the potential value of stolen mail extends well beyond packages left on a doorstep.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service says criminals target mail containing financial documents and personally identifiable information that can be exploited in crimes including check fraud and identity theft.
The agency has described a significant increase beginning around 2020 in criminals targeting letter carriers, including attempts to obtain mail and postal keys that can provide access to larger quantities of mail.
In its fiscal 2024 annual report, the Postal Inspection Service said thieves have targeted financial and other sensitive documents in the mail for use in financially motivated crimes, including check fraud and identity theft.
That national trend provides context for why federal authorities treat the security of postal routes, carriers and mail vehicles seriously. It does not, however, establish Collins’ intended purpose for the mail he tried to purchase.
Mail Theft Has Become a Federal Enforcement Priority
The Collins prosecution comes as the Postal Inspection Service continues Project Safe Delivery, an initiative launched in May 2023 by the Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service in response to mail theft and violent crimes targeting postal employees.
The agency reports 3,960 mail-theft arrests and 572 robbery arrests nationwide between May 12, 2023, and June 30, 2026, under statistics published as part of the initiative.
Postal inspectors say the strategy includes protecting postal employees, strengthening delivery security, using intelligence and data analysis to identify criminal activity, improving training and working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Separate Postal Inspection Service statistics say inspectors arrested nearly 9,300 suspects for mail and package theft between 2019 and 2024.
The agency also says postal inspectors recover more than $1 billion in counterfeit checks and money orders annually, illustrating the financial crimes that can accompany stolen financial documents.
Another St. Louis Mail Case Announced This Week
The Collins case also came during a week when federal prosecutors in St. Louis announced another, unrelated prosecution involving allegedly stolen mail.
On Sept. 24 — one day after Collins pleaded guilty — the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that two men had been accused of recruiting homeless people to cash checks allegedly stolen from the mail at St. Louis-area financial institutions.
Publicly available records show no indication that the Collins prosecution is connected to that case.
The separate prosecutions nevertheless illustrate the different ways federal authorities say stolen mail can become involved in financial crimes.
Postal Carrier Reported the Approach
One of the most significant details in the Collins case is that, according to the government’s account, the attempted transaction never occurred.
The postal carrier rejected Collins’ offer and reported the encounter.
Federal prosecutors have not alleged in the information currently available that she turned over mail, provided access to the postal vehicle or accepted any money from Collins.
The Postal Inspection Service advises people who witness or become victims of mail-related crimes to report them to postal inspectors. The agency also recommends retrieving delivered mail promptly, contacting senders when expected checks or other valuable mail fail to arrive, and avoiding leaving mail unattended for extended periods.
The federal investigation ultimately resulted in Collins’ prosecution and his Sept. 23 guilty plea.
His case now moves into the sentencing phase.
Unless the sentencing schedule changes, Collins will learn his punishment Dec. 21 in federal court in St. Louis.
Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri; U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri; U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Editor’s note: Collins has pleaded guilty in federal court. References to other mail-theft and financial-fraud cases are included solely as broader context and do not indicate that Collins was involved in those cases or that authorities have accused him of check fraud or identity theft.
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