Park Ridge Customs Agent Stole $5K Cash During Screening, Jury Finds

CHICAGO, IL —A border patrol agent was found to have swiped $5,000 cash from an international passenger arriving at O'Hare Airport by a federal jury Wednesday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent Salvatore Picardi, 38, of Park Ridge, was convicted of one count of embezzlement by a federal officer under color of law after a three-day trial for taking the money from a woman who had just arrived in the country on a flight from China on Feb. 22, 2016.

When the woman was allowed to leave after her customs inspection, she noticed her money was missing. As his fellow CBP officers began searching for the "lost" money, Picardi then tried to avoid getting caught by stuffing the cash back into the woman's jacket and claiming he had just found it.

Picardi's plot to avoid detection was foiled, as the jacked had previously been searched multiple times before his purported discovery.

Picardi faces a maximum of 10 years in prison at his sentencing in December, according to the announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

“[T]he overwhelming majority of CBP employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction, working tirelessly every day to keep our country safe," a CBP spokesperson told WMAQ. "We do not tolerate corruption or abuse within our ranks, nor acts which tarnish our agency’s reputation." Picardi has been on indefinite unpaid suspension for over a year, according to the spokesperson.

_{Top Photo via U.S. Customs and Border Protection}