Customs agent convicted of stealing $5,000 from traveler
A former customs agent stationed at O'Hare International is facing 10 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of embezzlement for taking $5,000 in cash from a traveler and then trying to hide his crime.
Salvatore Picardi, 38, of Park Ridge, was convicted Thursday. Prosecutors said Picardi took $5,000 from a female traveler who had just arrived from China on Feb. 22, 2016. After passing through customs, the woman noticed the cash was missing. Other officers assisted in trying to locate the cash, but Picardi put the money back in the woman's coat after it had been searched multiple times and claimed that he had found it.
His sentencing hearing is slated for Dec. 12.
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