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Home » Chicago ORD » Mystery Solved? My Stolen Pizza At Chicago O’Hare Airport
Chicago ORD

Mystery Solved? My Stolen Pizza At Chicago O’Hare Airport

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 18, 2021November 14, 2023 31 Comments

a slice of pizza being dipped in cheese

You might recall a few months back I wrote about the strange disappearance of my pizza at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. I have a new working theory about what happened to it.

Arrest At Chicago O’Hare Airport Provides New Theory On My Stolen Pizza

Aditya Singh, 36, was arrested over the weekend at O’Hare Airport for felony criminal trespass in a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft. He told authorities he was afraid of the coronavirus and spent three months living on the secure side of Chicago O’Hare.

On October 19th, he flew from Los Angeles to Chicago and managed to remain in the terminal without being detected. Apparently, he found or stole an ID badge and used it to access restricted areas on the secure side (though that detail is not clear). He also hit up passengers for food and money.

He was “discovered” after two United employees approached him and asked to see his ID. Apparently, he was observed over an extended period just hanging out with a United ID badge clearly visible, which reasonably raised questions. The man flashed an ID of a man who looked nothing like him and had reported his ID badge as missing on October 26th.

Speaking of October 26th, that was the day I flew from Chicago to Los Angeles in the same terminal. It was also the day my pizza was stolen.


> Read More: I’m Fleeced At Chicago O’Hare…Of A Deep Dish Pizza


So I’m not Sherlock Holmes, but I certainly now have a working theory for how and why my stuffed crust pizza suddenly disappeared in the gate area. Isn’t it possible, perhaps even likely, a hungry man who had been living in the airport for a week at that point saw an opportunity and took it?

CONCLUSION

As I said back in October, I hope that Singh or whoever took my pizza enjoyed the second half as much as I enjoyed the first half. It is not clear yet whether Singh did anything wrong. Did he just hang out in a large airport for a few months or did he go into employee-only areas? Either way, I’d send him back to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket with an order to seek medical help.

Do you think Mr. Singh enjoyed my stolen pizza at Chicago O’Hare?


image: Lou Malnati’s

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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31 Comments

  1. jeff Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 1:45 pm

    PizzaGate 2 ????

  2. Chris Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 1:52 pm

    Most likely it was a kind Chicagoan trying to prevent you from eating Giordano’s. 🙂

    Deep dish is like Navy Pier: good enough for tourists, but we never touch the stuff.

    • VD Reply
      January 18, 2021 at 7:28 pm

      Chicagoan here. Idk what he’s talking about but we definitely love our deep dish. Thin crust/tavern style is The everyday pizza for most of us however almost every Chicagoan I know loves deep dish pizza

    • Jay Reply
      January 19, 2021 at 12:24 pm

      Those who live in Chicago now but say they hate deep dish are usually transplants. I don’t know anyone born and raised in Chicagoland who doesn’t love deep dish.

  3. jonathan Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 1:53 pm

    It was pizza in motion!!!! Why do you think his blog is callled that. LOL

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 18, 2021 at 2:15 pm

      But Ed claims he hasn’t flown in nearly a year! 😉

  4. Santastico Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 1:55 pm

    Sorry, but calling that pizza is a heresy. When you want to try real pizza ask me and I will give all the places to go in Naples, Italy. You will never call whatever you bought in Chicago a pizza.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 18, 2021 at 1:56 pm

      Believe me, I love pizza from Napoli. But I won’t deny I also love the pizza from Chicago!

      • Santastico Reply
        January 18, 2021 at 3:01 pm

        The Chicago thing is a pie filled with tomato sauce and melted cheese. You may love it but that is not pizza. 🙂

  5. Me3 Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 1:59 pm

    Or “Gategate”…?

  6. Me3 Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 2:01 pm

    Hopefully not from the Lonely Planet list. Lol!

  7. Joey Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 2:03 pm

    Do you think the lady who sat near you is an accomplice to that guy hence why she told you she didn’t see anyone take your pizza?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 18, 2021 at 2:04 pm

      Doubtful. She was probably just wasn’t paying attention.

  8. Carl WV Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 2:38 pm

    When an ID is lost or stolen doesn’t somebody feel it wise to cancel it’s access powers. If the badge’s owner did not report it missing they should be gone.

    Of course that might not have saved your pizza,

  9. derek Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 3:10 pm

    Beyond a reasonable doubt – no
    Clear and convincing- no
    Preponderance of evidence- almost by not quite
    He did it, who else would want a half eaten pizza – yes

  10. Too Many Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 3:16 pm

    Medical help? More like psychiatric help.

  11. Raymond Lin Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    As a journalist, you should interview him. Not just about the pizza, but about the experience about living at the airport and what it was like and why he did it. I’m sure that your readers would enjoy the article,

  12. Paolo Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 3:58 pm

    I’m glad Mr Singh pinched your pizza remnants; you eat far too much crap as it is….

  13. Stuart Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 5:47 pm

    I’m just laughing at the fact that you are still obsessing over this stolen pizza. Next time get pineapple on it, you will lower your odds of theft by 48%.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 18, 2021 at 5:57 pm

      And lower the odds of me eating it by 100%!

      • Sang Real Reply
        January 19, 2021 at 11:50 am

        I always make sure there’s pineapple on all my pizzas. Calling a pizza without pineapple a pizza, is like flying without wings; completely impossible 🙂

  14. T Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 5:48 pm

    I know the article is about the missing pizza, but reading this story brings many questions, e.g. where he took shower, laundry, do not have family nearby…

    When I have a long connection, sitting/eating food in the lounge is a nightmare already… Unbelievable.

  15. Sally Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 5:50 pm

    Love this story and the update!

    p.s. I think Bourdain used to say that the Chicago stuff is not pizza, it’s tomato pie. Not to say tomato pie can’t be good, evidently

  16. Andy K Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 7:08 pm

    I find stories like that of Mr. Singh to be fascinating. Airports are not the place to avoid COVID. There has to be more to this story. I agree with Mr. Lin that you should try to interview this guy. My guess – he is dealing with a loan shark and needed a safe place to lay low. Good luck getting a hit out on a guy in an airport terminal!

  17. Joe Chivas Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 8:44 pm

    This pizza caper has Mitch Cumstein’s fingerprints all over it.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 18, 2021 at 8:46 pm

      I thought he was stuck in England?

  18. Boston Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 10:04 pm

    You should definitely interview this guy, along with the stowaway lady. I think the court was a bit too harsh, his public defender asked the judge to allow return to LAX and the judge declined. There is no known security or plot threat here.

    I would also be interested in several questions:
    If and where did he shower? Where did he sleep? Would he leave the gate area, and then re-enter with the id instead of a boarding pass? What sort of unauthorized or back office areas did he access? Did he go to several terminals or mainly stay in one?

    Is there any way you can interview him in the local jail?

    The regular news media is not digging up the answers to these av/airport geek type questions.

    Did he gain unauthorized access to planes and sleep on board overnight?

  19. cargocult Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 10:46 pm

    Matthew, you are enacting literal violence in attempting to bring the power of the white supremacist state down upon this poor BIPOC person experiencing homelessness. How dare you accuse him of theft without any evidence? If he did take the pizza, consider it reparations. Be grateful that you did not end up punishing your body by ingesting it.

  20. cargocult Reply
    January 18, 2021 at 10:49 pm

    Sorry, him/them, he/they. One shouldn’t presume the preferred gender of anyone else.

  21. rich Reply
    January 19, 2021 at 9:50 am

    An ID badge alone shouldn’t allow someone access to secure areas. You should also need a pin to open doors and access areas.

    Of course most security at airports, office complexes, etc. are usually very low paid people who seldom look at badges or investigate anything.

    Generally if you act as if you belong and don’t do anything unusual and make some small talk security people will usually let you go. At least that has been my observations.

    • Carl WV Reply
      January 19, 2021 at 2:21 pm

      You may be right, but there are definitely lots of access swipes in use that do not have keypads.

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