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Credit Card Queen's luck runs out

Shirley Gordon had stolen for years, but hadserved only a few years in prison. But that all changed Monday.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published May 16, 2006

Gordon was sentenced to five years in prison. Upon her release, she began stealing again. And again. And again.

Gordon has racked up more than 30 felony convictions for credit card fraud, identity theft and other charges over the last three decades, though she has never spent more than a few years in prison.

That run ended Monday when a judge sentenced Gordon to 30 years in prison for stealing the identity of a Pembroke Pines woman and using it to buy a new Infiniti and thousands of dollars in jewelry.

"It appears you have a significant history of taking things that don't belong to you," Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Dee Anna Farnell told Gordon prior to sentencing. "You are a serial thief."

Gordon has used dozens of aliases, dates of birth and Social Security numbers during her lifetime. She is in her 50s.

Prosecutor Beverly Andringa asked Farnell to sentence Gordon to 30 years in prison as a habitual felony offender. Gordon's defense lawyers asked for 18 months in prison.

Gordon also is serving 18 months of federal prison for violating the terms of probation on bank fraud and other charges.

Gordon's mother, son and pastor said she had changed her ways.

"She's trying to do God's will," said her son, Kenneth Day. "I'm proud of my mother for trying to do God's will."

But Gordon's chances had run out.

She made headlines in 1983 for the $1,900 wedding reception and $380 honeymoon in the Bahamas that she paid for with phony credit cards. One prosecutor at that time called her "a risk to the business community."

Chris Tisch can be reached at 727-892-2359 or tisch@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 16, 2006, 06:22:52]