'Career Thief' in Trouble Again for Alleged Bank Fraud

Convicted in 2004 of stealing more than $100,000 from an Addison company where she worked as a bookkeeper, Anne Strezewski earned a 10-year prison sentence and a scathing letter about her from prosecutors.

"She is a career thief, who will lie, cheat and steal when she gets out of prison," Assistant State's Attorney Timothy Diamond wrote in January 2005.

Diamond's words appear prophetic, as Strezewski—who also goes by Anne Rego—is once again in trouble with the law.

Wheaton police arrested Strezewski last month on charges she told her bank and a Glen Ellyn police officer that her debit card had been stolen and used for unauthorized purchases totaling just over $1,400. Prosecutors allege she lied about the card and received money back from the bank to cover the supposed identity theft.

Also in June, it is alleged Strezewski took catalytic converters off vehicles parked in the 100 block of Bridge Street and was arrested on charges she broke into a Wheaton home in a neighborhood where she previously lived, according to court documents and police reports.

Those arrests come after a March traffic stop in Wheaton where police found her under the influence of drugs and with marijuana, court records show. Strezewski, 36, is free on $125,000 bond and returns to court next month.

Strezewski's criminal history in DuPage County stretches back to 2000 with three misdemeanor arrests for theft in Oak Brook. Also in 2000, she was arrested and eventually convicted of illegal use of a credit card in Lombard. Court records show she still owes close to $1,000 in fines and costs.

In 2002, Strezewski pleaded guilty to attempting to bring a weapon into a penal institution, records show, although specifics of the case were not immediately available.

Two years later, while on parole, Strezewski was convicted of stealing in the neighborhood of $150,000 from Alcom Components in Addison. Prosecutors said Strezewski used company checks to pay her bills.

"She ultimately wrote dozens of checks to herself totaling over $150,000," Diamond wrote in a letter to prison officials.

He emphasized Strezewski—who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and to pay restitution—had done to Alcom what she had done to four different employers, although he did not reference where those businesses were located or if she had been criminally charged in those instances.

Adding to her troubles was a 2004 lawsuit by Alcom's insurance company which sought $10,000 from Strezewski to cover a payment made as part of Alcom's loss coverage. A judge found Strezewski in default in the case, records show.