Suspected Porch Package Thief's Home Filled With Identity-Stealing Gear and A Ton of Stolen Christmas Cards

There are holiday-time grinches all over who swipe packages likely holding presents right off people's porches, and then there are those who take it a step further and steal the purchaser's identity, too. One such suspected thief was busted this week in the Rancho Palos Verdes Area.

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Michael Wieczorek (Booking photo courtesy LASD)
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Lomita Station Detectives spent some time conducting surveillance on 42-year-old Michael Wieczorek of San Pedro, who they believed stole a delivered package off a porch in Rancho Palos Verdes. When detectives made contact with the suspect, they discovered he had not only that package, but others, as well as "narcotics, credit cards and identification that did not belong to him."Evidence gathered at the suspect's residence yielded the discovery of "a plethora of instruments used to commit identity theft, including computers, credit card reading devices, counterfeit California Driver’s licenses, altered checks and fraudulent income tax forms," according to the LASD. Also at the suspect's home was stolen mail from all over Southern California, and, as, the LASD points out, sadly that mail included a great number of Christmas greeting cards.

Wieczorek is suspected of "filing tax returns using various victims’ identities in order to steal their tax return."

The suspected thief was also in possession of stolen "vacuum cleaners, jewelry, toys, an air-soft pellet rifle, blenders, clothing and cookware."

Wieczorek was arrested and has been released after posting bond. He is due back in court in early January.