A suburban man has pleaded guilty to knocking a 76-year-old man to the ground and robbing him at a Loop ATM in October 2019 in exchange for a three-year prison sentence. With credit for time served before pleading and a 50% sentence reduction for good behavior, Michael Zuffa walked out of Stateville Correctional Center on the same day he arrived, records show.
Around 12:30 p.m. on October 14, 2019, the senior citizen was withdrawing money from an outdoor ATM at 70 West Randolph when Zuffa forced his hand away from the machine, knocked him to the ground, and robbed him of $300 cash, prosecutors said.
But a good Samaritan saw the whole thing and followed Zuffa. The witness told police he saw Zuffa shed a green sweatshirt and board a CTA bus a few blocks away. Cops caught up with the bus, arrested Zuffa, and recovered $280 in $20 bills from him, according to a CPD report.
The victim, who lives in Lincoln Park, could not identify Zuffa, but the witness did that for him, prosecutors said. Cops also recovered a green sweatshirt from the bus stop on Madison Street. Police gave the $280 cash that Zuffa was carrying to the alleged robbery victim.
Zuffa pleaded guilty to one count of robbery in exchange for a three-year sentence. According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, he arrived at Stateville on April 19 and walked out later the same day. He’ll be on parole until April 19, 2023.
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