Snack cake vendor charged with N. Aurora theft

A snack cake vendor was charged with felony theft for failing to credit a North Aurora grocery store for more than $10,000 in merchandise that didn't sell, police said.

Patrick G. Depirro, 54, of the 6N300 block of Forest Avenue in St. Charles Township, was arrested Wednesday after Woodman's Food Market found the discrepancy and alerted police, North Aurora Lt. Scott Buziecki said.

"They basically brought us in right as they discovered it and we made an arrest right there on the spot," he said.

Buziecki would not identify Depirro's employer, but said he had delivered snack cakes to Woodman's, 151 Hansen Blvd., since early 2008 on behalf of a private vendor.

He said Depirro's job was to bring in fresh products on a regular basis and issue credits to the store for items that didn't sell or were expired.

It's unclear what motive there may have been for depriving the store of credits. Buziecki said Depirro's employer had no role in the crime.

"It's not that he was taking the snack cakes," Buziecki said. "He was keeping the credit they were due."

Depirro was free on bond Friday and scheduled to appear in court next on June 24. He is charged with Class 3 felony theft, typically punishable by two to five years in prison or probation.

Depirro could not be reached for comment Friday. There was no attorney listed for him in court records.