A 65-year-old man with a history of pickpocketing on Chicago’s transit system is once again accused of stealing wallets from women on the CTA Blue Line in the Loop, prosecutors said.
Edward Miller, who received a two-year prison sentence for theft and identity theft in connection with similar Blue Line incidents in 2020, is charged with three counts of theft in the latest cases.
Prosecutors said CTA surveillance video shows Miller and an accomplice working together on multiple occasions to distract and steal from riders.
In one case, on September 18 at the Washington Blue Line station, the accomplice blocked the path of a woman visiting from California while Miller reached into her purse and took her wallet containing identification, credit cards, and $400 in cash, prosecutors said. The victim’s cards were used shortly afterward to make $1,127 in purchases.
In another case on May 13, also at the Washington station, prosecutors said Miller switched roles. He allegedly blocked a 72-year-old woman’s path while the accomplice removed her clutch purse containing credit cards and $3 in cash. Those cards were used minutes later to buy $216 worth of merchandise at a nearby store.
The third theft occurred on December 21, 2024, at the Monroe Blue Line station. Prosecutors said Miller bumped into a 23-year-old woman and removed her wallet while another person blocked her path. Surveillance footage allegedly shows Miller using a red cloth to conceal his hand as he reached into the woman’s tote bag.
Miller, who has been arrested numerous times for similar crimes on CTA trains and platforms, is a familiar familiar to transit officers. His 2020 conviction also stemmed from a string of thefts targeting Blue Line passengers in the downtown area.
Authorities believe they know who Miller’s accomplice was in the latest thefts, but we’re not naming him because he has not yet been charged.
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