The attorney general has charged five men for their alleged participation in a burglary ring that spanned numerous counties in Illinois, including Lake County, where over $100,000 was stolen.
The Illinois Attorney General’s office charged John Friedrich, 35, of Streator; Joseph Montoro, 39, of Berwyn; Sebastian Perez, 41, of Chicago; Jacob Sickel, 20, of Brookfield; and Don Wiley, 53, of University Park, with multiple felonies for an alleged string of 22 burglaries.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the five men participated in a burglary ring that spanned from the Chicago area to Central Illinois.
The burglaries occurred in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Champaign, Lake, Tazewell, DeWitt, Peoria, Kankakee, McLean and Will counties.
Raoul said the thefts impacted dozens of businesses and counties. Gas stations, bars and small video gaming machine parlors were targeted.
“These arrests are the result of countless hours of investigative work and close collaborations between my office and several law enforcement agencies. I would like to thank the Illinois Gaming Board and the agencies that participated in this complex investigation,” Raoul said.
“I look forward to continuing similar partnerships that help us hold criminals accountable across jurisdictions,” he added.
The Attorney General’s investigation and prosecution of the burglary ring is based on a referral from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB).
“The IGB was pleased to partner with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies in dismantling this video gaming burglary ring and bringing these criminals to justice,” said IGB Administrator Marcus Fruchter.
“The IGB will continue working with our state and local partners on criminal investigations statewide to ensure and uphold the integrity and safety of gaming in Illinois,” Fruchter said.
Raoul’s office said they worked with dozens of local law enforcement agencies in the impacted counties throughout the course of the complex investigation.
The five men allegedly worked together to steal over $100,000 from video gaming machines from January to November 2023.
All of the suspects, except for Friedrich, have been arrested. The public is asked to contact law enforcement if they know of Friedrich’s whereabouts.
Friedrich was charged with one count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, one count of money laundering and six counts of burglary.
Montoro was charged with one count of theft between $100,000 and $500,000, one count of money laundering, 20 counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary.
Perez was charged with one count of theft between $500 and $10,000, two counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary.
Sickel was charged with one count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, 10 counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary.
Wiley was charged with one count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, eight counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary.
The cases are being prosecuted by Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau, which is authorized by Illinois statute to prosecute multi-county cases involving drugs, money laundering, guns or electronics. The bureau focuses on complex, often large-scale, organized criminal activity.