FedEx Worker Killed After Denying Coworker Driver Status: Delco DA

LEVITTOWN, PA —A Levittown man is dead after authorities said he was killed for denying a coworker from being approved as a FedEx driver.

A Philadelphia man has been charged with homicide and related crimes in the death of Bartholomew Masciulli, 51, of Levittown, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office said.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Keith Lamont Blount, 59, of Philadelphia, is charged with criminal homicide, murder of the first and third degree, and related firearms charges, as well as multiple counts of assault on a law enforcement officer in connection with his apprehension by Philadelphia Police officers.

According to authorities, Tinicum Township Police Department were called to the Cargo City area of the Philadelphia Airport on Oct. 7.

There, police found a silver Jeep Patriot with Masciulli in it.

Masciulli was suffering from gunshot wounds to his face, and he was pronounced dead at the scene by staff from the Chester Crozer Medical Center.

The scene was secured, and five 9mm fired cartridge casings were located approximately 50 feet behind the vehicle.

A witness told authorities they saw a black male speaking to the driver of a silver Jeep.

The witness said that the man actor stepped back from the vehicle, pulled out a firearm, and fired five rounds into the silver Jeep, then got into a Honda Accord and drove off, authorities said.

Another witness said they saw a man go up to the Jeep as it was getting ready to leave the parking lot.

That witness said he saw the man point his hand into the Jeep's window then head five gunshots.

A third witness told authorities that he knew Blount, and that Blount was recently been in training to become a driver, and the victim was a driver training instructor.

The witness was able to positively identify Blount from a photo array, authorities said.

Review of documents provided by FedEx confirm that Masciulli had evaluated Blount on Aug. 29 and Sept. 2, and Masciulli did not approve Blount to be a FedEx driver, according to authorities.

Security camera footage in the area showed a silver Honda Accord sitting in the area of the shooting for about two hours before the shooting.

Using information obtained from the vehicle, it was determined that it was associated with an address in Philadelphia, authorities said.

Further investigation showed Blount lived at the address associated with the vehicle.
Information about the vehicle was distributed to surrounding law enforcement agencies, including the Philadelphia Police Department.

Delaware County authorities said Blount shot at two Philadelphia Police officers in a marked patrol vehicle on 3300 North 10th Street, at about 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 7.

Four more officers responded and saw Blount in the middle of 10th Street armed with a firearm, according to authorities.

Blount shot at the officers, and the officers fired back, wounding Blount, authorities said.
He was taken to Temple University Hospital.

A search warrant was obtained, and a fired cartridge casing, a 9mm Ruger firearm, and additional ammunition were recovered, the DA's office said.

The examination determined that the fired cartridge casings recovered from the scene in Tinicum had been discharged from the 9mm Ruger recovered from the Blount's vehicle.

Blount is currently being held without bail in Philadelphia, but will be transferred to the George W. Hill Correctional facility.

"Every homicide is a tragedy, but it is particularly shocking when this level of violence occurs in a place that we want to believe is safe – our workplaces, our schools, our houses of worship. The victim, in this case, had been an employee of FedEx for 28 years, and he had been assigned to evaluate the readiness of a fellow employee to become a driver for FedEx," Stollsteimer said.

"When the defendant did not receive a positive evaluation, he decided to retaliate in the worst way possible. In committing this senseless act, he has forever deprived a family of their loved one, and he has shaken the community to its core. To compound the depravity of this act of violence, when the defendant recognized that his apprehension was imminent, he opened fire on Philadelphia Police officers. His actions are reprehensible. We will work to ensure that he is held responsible to the full extent of the law."

Patch Staff Writer Max Bennett contributed to this story.