The illegal immigrant charged with robbing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem immediately used her credit cards for a boozy night in DC, police say.
Mario Bustamante-Leiva, aged 49, was taken into custody this week for reportedly stealing more than $3,000 in cash from Noem at The Capital Burger eatery in downtown DC, making off with her Gucci purse.
Noem said the thief also took off with makeup bag, driver’s license, passport, medication, apartment keys, DHS access badge and some blank checks.
Recent records obtained by DailyMail.com suggest that Bustamante-Leiva proceeded to venture to a neighboring bar at the Angolo Ristorante Italiano restaurant immediately after the theft, where he reportedly lingered until approximately midnight.
During his time at the bar, he is said to have splurged $205.87 of Noem’s money and authorities have shared photos showing him seated with the high-end designer handbag of the Trump administration’s former member, alongside credit cards placed on the table in front of him.
He then fell asleep on an outdoor table at the restaurant until 7:30am the next morning, before he called the cops to say that his bag, containing a Chilean passport and $1,000 in cash, had been stolen from him.
Authorities say Bustamante-Leiva has been in the US illegally for years, and is believed to be part of a wider robbery organization terrorizing the East Coast.
This is not the Chilean’s first run-in with the law. He made DailyMail.com headlines back in 2015 for being one of London’s most prolific robbers.
Mario Bustamante-Leiva, 49, was apprehended for the theft in DC. He is pictured here in his mugshot from his robberies in the UK
After robbing Noem at a restaurant with a Gucci hat on and a mask over his face, Bustamante-Leiva immediately went to a nearby bar and drank until midnight
The suspect is seen at a bar with Noem’s large Gucci handbag in surveillance footage collected by the Secret Service
When he robbed Noem, Bustamante-Leiva sat alone at a table next to the secretary and was able to snatch her purse while no one was looking
When he robbed Noem, Bustamante-Leiva sat alone at a table next to the secretary and was able to snatch her purse while no one was looking.
He used his left foot to drag and slide the bag into his possession and away from Noem. The suspect looked around the restaurant, picked up the bag, put it under his jacket, and bolted.
According to the court documents, Bustamante-Leiva had robbed two other unsuspecting victims in just over a week before targeting Noem in the same fashion.
After he was nabbed by the Secret Service, Bustamante-Leiva told officers he was an alcoholic and suffered from ‘memory issues’, before admitting to stealing Noem’s handbag.
He said that he kept her purse and wallet, but threw the rest of the contents in the trash as he made his escape.
Once shown a picture of Noem, he said he did not know who they were – confirming what investigators had earlier said in that the robbery was not a targeted hit on Noem because of her politics.
Bustamante-Leiva is seen immediately after Noem’s handbag was stolen, using her credit card (circled) to make over $200 in purchases at a bar
According to the court documents, Bustamante-Leiva had robbed two other unsuspecting victims in just over a week before targeting Noem in the same fashion (pictured robbing another victim at a Nandos days before)
The suspect was spotted using Noem’s credit cards and cash at various stores and bars around DC following the robbery
Following his arrest in London, he was jailed in the UK for three years after stealing $27,957 worth of phones, wallets and computers during a five-month crime spree.
Bustamante-Leiva was a jobless father-of-three at the time with no fixed address.
The Chilean national trawled exclusive bars, restaurants and coffee shops looking for laptops, mobile phones, iPods and tablets.
In 2015, the Old Bailey court in London heard in one case he even stole a bag containing an entire family’s passports and airplane boarding passes.
Police released CCTV footage which showed the brazen thief swipe an unsuspecting woman’s handbag from under her nose as she chats with a friend.
He admitted 22 charges of theft between July and December 2014.
Noem, 53, was dining with her family at The Capital Burger in downtown DC , when a man in a medical mask was able to sneak off with her Gucci bag last Sunday
Noem thanked law enforcement for arresting her suspected robber.
She wrote on Sunday: ‘Thank you to Secret Service and ICE and our law enforcement partners for finding and arresting the criminal who stole my bag on Easter Sunday as I shared a meal with my family at a Washington DC restaurant.
‘This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.
‘Unfortunately, so many families in this country have been made victims by crime, and that’s why President Trump is working every single day to make America safe and get these criminal aliens off of our streets.’
