Strip Club Patron Calls Cab Driver 'Parasite': Police

This article was originally published July 24, 2013

Update: The charges against Vade have been dropped.

Original story:

A La Grange Park man was arrested July 11 for harassment after he repeatedly sent threatening text messages to a cab driver he suspected of stealing the SD card for his phone, police said.

An "extremely intoxicated" Anand Vade, 28, of the 500 block of Ashland Avenue in La Grange Park, hired the cab on July 5 to take him home from the Playpen strip club in Stone Park, and back to the club when he couldn't find his phone, police said. 

While cleaning out the cab the next morning, the driver found the phone, contacted Vade and said he’d take it to him but would charge him a fare for the distance.

Vade later contacted the driver and told him someone had taken the SD card out of his phone and that he wanted it back. 

While the driver said he didn’t know anything about it, Vade was convinced the driver had taken the card and began texting him incessantly, police said. 

In some of the texts, Vade called the driver a liar and a "parasite" that preys on drunks in bars, police said. 

"Listen... I'm not a thug... but I have friends that are," Vade wrote. 

The driver also told police he received two voicemails he thought were threatening.

While police completed a harassment complaint for the driver around 3:45 a.m. July 11, the driver received 23 more text messages from Vade, police said.

When Vade was arrested around 3:45 a.m., he told police he was "very angry." He said felt he was being scammed, and that he wanted to be assertive in sending so many messages to intimidate the driver into returning the card, police said.

Vade was processed on a harassment through electronic communications charge, given an Aug. 28 court date and released on bond.

Editor's Note: Vade's age was incorrect when this article was originally posted. It was been corrected.

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