Stolen Credit Card Used In Gas Station Spending Spree: Cops

EVERGREEN PARK, IL -- A parolee was arrested after he stole a credit card from an unlocked vehicle and then went on a shopping spree at various gas stations in Evergreen Park, prosecutors said. John Verdino, 42, appeared before Cook County Judge Michael Kane on a felony charge of identity theft. Verdino is currently on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

According to the charges, a woman reported her wallet being stolen from her unlocked vehicle on July 9. She told police she was notified by Capital One that her card was used at the Circle K in Evergreen Park at 10258 S. Kedzie Ave. The transaction was denied.

A short while later, someone used the card again at Super Sonic, located at 9802 S. Kedzie Ave. Employees said that a short bald man wearing tan shorts, later identified as Verdino, purchased $40 worth of cigarettes and candy. The second time the transaction went through. Verdino was identified by employees at both gas stations and captured on surveillance video using the woman’s credit card, the prosecutor said.

After police identified Verdino and learned that he lived across the street from the Supersonic, he was arrested July 19, the prosecutor said. Verdino allegedly told police that he found the credit card on the ground at the Circle K station, then changed his story to say that someone gave him the credit card.

Verdino is on parole from the Vienna Correctional Center where he had been serving a 6-year sentence for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to IDOC records. The assistant public defender told the judge that Verdino lives in Evergreen Park where he works as a pizza delivery driver.

Bail was set at $2,500. Verdino’s next court date is Aug. 9 in Bridgeview. The judge told him to stay out of both gas stations.