--- --- # Postal Worker Stole 2,000 Pieces of Mail Because 'I Was Bored' by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Dec 9, 2014 8:38 PM UTC by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Dec 9, 2014 8:38 PM UTC Detroit postal worker Sharon Berrien didn’t steal some 2,000 pieces of mail to collect those $20 birthday checks from Grandma alone. No, there was a deeper motivation: ennui. “I was bored,” Berrien [told](http://news.yahoo.com/us-postal-worker-says-she-stole-boredom-232548325.html) investigators after she was charged with stealing mail by federal authorities Monday. Of course, Berrein took the money, the [Associated Press](http://news.yahoo.com/us-postal-worker-says-she-stole-boredom-232548325.html) said. The accused said she kept $1,000 to $1,500 and littered the leftover mail — taken out of a Detroit mail processing center — along Interstate 94\. Sightings of abandoned greeting cards keyed authorities into the fact that something was amiss. A probe led to the Nov. 21 discovery of 800 pieces of mail in Berrein’s trash. As a cure for future stints of boredom, might we suggest the podcast [_Serial_](http://time.com/3599406/serial-what-to-watch-hear-and-read-if-youre-obsessed-with-the-podcast/)? \[[_AP_](http://news.yahoo.com/us-postal-worker-says-she-stole-boredom-232548325.html)\] Postal Worker Stole 2,000 Pieces of Mail Because 'I Was Bored' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3626048/postal-worker-stole-mail-because-bored/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3626048/postal-worker-stole-mail-because-bored/"},"headline":"Postal Worker Stole 2,000 Pieces of Mail Because 'I Was Bored'","datePublished":"2014-12-09T20:38:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:15:08.981Z","description":"At least she was honest?","url":"https://time.com/3626048/postal-worker-stole-mail-because-bored/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Detroit","Mail","crimes"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3626048/postal-worker-stole-mail-because-bored/","name":"Postal Worker Stole 2,000 Pieces of Mail Because 'I Was Bored'"}}]}] ```