NEW YORK – A New York City postal worker was arrested after 17,000 pieces of undelivered mail were found in his car, apartment and home, authorities said.

Aleksey Germash, a letter carrier who’s worked for the United States Postal Service for more than 16 years, had undelivered mail from as far back as 2005 in his possession. He told investigators he kept the mail because was overwhelmed by the amount he had to deliver each day. Germash said he made sure to deliver “the important mail.”

Officials found about 10,000 pieces of undelivered mail in his car, approximately 1,000 pieces in his locker at the Dyker Heights, Brooklyn post office where he worked, along with roughly 6,000 additional pieces of undelivered mail in his apartment.

They started investigating after they received information about full mail bags inside Germash’s car. USPS employees found 20 full bags in his car on April 18.

He was arrested April 19.

Germash is not the first postal worker to keep mail instead of delivering it. Agents arrested a Long Island letter carrier earlier this month after they found dozens of bags filled with undelivered mail behind his home.

Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of mail theft or slow delivery can call 888-USPS-OIG or file a complaint online at USPSOIG.gov.