A Cook County Sheriff’s deputy is facing federal theft charges for taking cash from a home on Chicago's south side, a crime captured on video in an FBI sting, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Samuel J. Spino, 35, of Melrose Park, took $1,100 in cash from a home on Ingleside Avenue where he was part of a group executing an eviction order, according to the FBI.
Before the eviction, FBI agents placed the cash in a drinking glass in the kitchen and placed video cameras throughout the home after receiving a number of complaints about Spino from the Sheriff’s Office of Professional Review, a release from the FBI said.
According to the FBI, the cameras captured Spino reaching into the glass and placing something in his pocket. FBI agents later found the cash was missing.
Spino has been a sheriff’s deputy since 2002 and was part of a four-person team responsible for clearing people from homes during eviction proceedings. According to the Office of Professional Review, deputies working evictions are not allowed to remove property from the home.
Criminal Complaint: United States vs. Samuel Spino:
