Convicted Thief In One Case, A Victim In Another

Six months ago, Anne and Eric Rego shared a Glen Ellyn address.

These days, they both live in Wheaton—in the DuPage County Jail—although that will change soon.

Their individual histories are well-documented in court records across three states, but what happened over the span of 11 days in May had prosecutors calling Anne—who also goes by the last name of Strezewski—a defendant in one case and a victim in another.

Anne pleaded guilty this week to financial institution fraud tied to money she kept after reporting her debit card had been stolen. She also admitted to a burglary in Wheaton, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for both convictions, according to court records.

For Anne, her troubles had begun again by the time police showed up to arrest Eric on May 16 at their apartment on Kenilworth Avenue, according to records. Glen Ellyn police were called to the home for a domestic situation because Eric An investigation determined Eric had punched Anne, who was pregnant at the time, in the face and struck her in the hip. She suffered a fracture and a cut to her face, court documents show.

Indictments charging Eric with aggravated domestic battery and cocaine possession also note he has a previous conviction in Rhode Island for a felony domestic case. He’s also accused of being a fugitive from justice due to a parole violation in Rhode Island. Eric remains in DuPage County Jail on $500,000 bail and has pleaded not guilty in the case involving Anne. He returns to court Nov. 30, and is also scheduled for a Dec. 6 on unrelated felony battery charges.

It would be July before prosecutors charged Anne with lying to bank officials and police about the stolen debit card and missing money from her account. Authorities said she filed a false police report and then pocketing the bank’s reimbursement in early May. Anne would also be charged with stealing catalytic converters off of cars and breaking into a Wheaton residence over the course of several days in June, according to prosecutors, who dropped disorderly conduct and forgery counts as part of the plea agreement.

A judge in October rejected Anne’s request to be placed in the county’s drug court in September—a pre-trial treatment-based program—after ordering a criminal history report that included several arrests and a previous 10-year prison sentence for stealing $150,000 from an employer in Addison. That conviction earned her the tag as a “career thief” by one DuPage prosecutor.

Aside from sharing the same birthday as his wife, Eric also has several years of legal troubles in common with her.

Online court records from Rhode Island indicate several felony arrests, including the 2001 domestic case, but do not offer any specific details. Florida prison records show Eric served approximately 18 months on a car theft conviction that also included probation until April 2011. However, prosecutors in Florida filed a probation violation against him in February. DuPage prosecutors have requested records from Florida on Rego’s criminal history.