Cook County Sheriff’s Deputy Samuel J.
Spino was arrested today on federal charges after allegedly stealing $1,100
from a residence at which he and others were executing a judicial eviction
order. Unbeknownst to Spino, video cameras had been installed by FBI agents
within the residence, along with cash left in a drinking glass in the kitchen
of the residence. Video captured Spino allegedly reaching into the glass
containing the cash and after Spino and the others left the residence, agents
determined that the $1,100 was no longer in the residence.
Spino, 35, of Melrose Park, was charged
in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court with one count of theft of
government property. The charge and arrest were announced by Robert D. Grant,
Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation; Thomas Dart, Cook County Sheriff; and Patrick J. Fitzgerald,
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Spino will appear
today at 3:00 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason.
According to the complaint, Spino, a
Cook County deputy sheriff since 2002, was assigned to the Evictions, Levies,
and Warrants Unit and worked as part of a four-person team responsible for
making entry into properties subject to eviction orders in order to clear the
properties of any individuals. Once the properties are cleared, the eviction
deputies leave the properties in the possession of the owners or owners’
representatives. According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office of Professional
Review (OPR), eviction deputies are not to confiscate or move personal property
unless drugs or contraband are found in plain view. In that instance, the drugs
or contraband are to be secured, photographed, and inventoried in accordance
with Sheriff’s Department standard procedures.
The investigation was initiated in April
of this year after the Cook County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Review brought
several complaints against and allegations about Spino to the attention of the
FBI. On May 3, 2012, Spino was sent with a team to execute a judicial eviction
order at a residence on South Ingleside Avenue in Chicago. The owner of the
property had previously allowed FBI agents access to the residence to install
video cameras and to place $1,100 in a drinking glass in the kitchen of the
residence. The video cameras recorded the actions of the eviction deputies
within the residence as they cleared the property. In the video, Spino is seen
in the kitchen after the other members of the team have left the room. Spino is
then allegedly seen holding and reaching into the glass as he walks out of view
of the cameras. Shortly thereafter, he is seen on camera placing an object into
his pants pocket. The money placed by the agents was not found in the
residence, and the Evictions, Levies, and Warrants Unit reported that no cash
from the residence was inventoried with the Cook County Sheriff’s Evidence and
Recovered Property Section.
This case was worked jointly with the
Cook County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Review.
The charged count carries a maximum
penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must
impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United
States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that a criminal
complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case
are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Copies of the federal criminal complaint
filed in this case are available from the Chicago FBI’s Press Office,
312-829-1199.
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