Romeoville Man Pleads Guilty To Burglary Ring Charges: Attorney General

ROMEOVILLE, IL — A Romeoville man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison for his role in a state-wide burglary ring that stole cash from video poker machines throughout the state, according to a release from the Illinois Attorney General's Office.

Syed Zaidi, 42, pleaded guilty to felony burglary. He was sentenced to three years in prison, the Attorney General's Office said.

The Attorney General's office filed charges against six people, including Zaidi, in August 2022. According to the office, the six individuals broke into businesses and robbed video gaming machines, stealing approximately $400,000.

All the defendants have now pleaded guilty to charges stemming from their involvement in the burglary ring.

“Members of this burglary ring targeted bars, restaurants, social clubs and other small businesses that have video poker and video gaming machines. They broke into dozens of these establishments in multiple counties and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash out of the machines,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a release. “All the defendants who participated in this criminal enterprise have now entered guilty pleas. My office was able to hold them accountable because of countless hours of collaboration with several law enforcement agencies. I would like to thank these agencies for their hard work investigating this case.”

The Attorney General’s office received support in its investigation from the Illinois Gaming Board and several law enforcement agencies, including the ISP, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office, the Joliet Police Department and the DeKalb, Bureau, Grundy, Iroquois, Kendall and LaSalle county sheriffs.

“Working with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies statewide, we successfully brought another offender to justice in this video gaming burglary ring,” Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said in a release. “The Illinois Gaming Board will continue to work closely with our partners to safeguard the integrity and safety of Illinois gaming.”