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CBS 2 Exclusive: Victim Left With Big Clue About Suspected Bronx Credit Card Thief

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A thief allegedly went on a spending spree after stealing credit cards from a woman's car in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

But as CBS 2's Matt Kozar reported exclusively, the alleged thief left a giant clue for the victim when he stopped at a photo shop.

Victim Nancy Hano, 67, was determined Monday to track the perp down. She found out she had been victimized when she got a fraud alert from her credit card company.

"They gave the date and time of all the charges," she said.

Hano said she then began asking questions.

"When I started asking, I found out about the other thefts," she said. "I didn't know about them."

Hano said she accidentally left her car open Tuesday night outside of her home on Dealfield Avenue in Riverdale. The thief got away with credit cards she had left in her console, along with house keys and an umbrella.

Hano said the thief rang up charges of $107 at a CVS drugstore.

But instead of waiting for police to investigate, Hano went into detective mode herself.

"Two of the stores that he charged at, their surveillance camera was broken," she said. "But the third store I called was a photo shop and the man answers the phone, and says, 'Yes, a man was in here at that time."

Manuel Cepeda is the owner of the photo shop where the alleged thief made a stop. He said he noticed something suspicious about the man.

"I saw the guy, very nervous," Cepeda said.

Hano's credit card was used at the Yonkers photo shop to purchase a fake ID with a name that matched Hano's husband, which appears on the credit card.

And Cepeda said the man took a picture for the ID which remained on the store's computer afterward.

Bronx Credit Card theft suspect
Photo on Yonkers store computer of person of interest in Bronx credit card theft (CBS 2)

The NYPD told CBS 2 the man in the photo has been named a person of interest.

"I never realized people would come in here to do something bad," Cepeda said.

With the fake ID in tow, the alleged thief went to town in Yonkers -- shopping in several stores, including a Sneaker World shop, and racking up several hundred dollars on the credit card.

Records showed the card was also used at an Easy Pickins clothing store in Yonkers, at a T-Mobile store down the block, and at a nearby McDonald's in White Castle.

Hano was proud to be her own detective.

"It's just in my nature to find things out," she said.

She added that she wants the thief caught, but in the end, it is not about the money.

"I was really annoyed about the umbrella. It was a gift from my son," she said.

Hano said her neighbors' cars were also broken into this month.

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