Being a celebrity doesn’t pay as well as it used to. Yesterday actress Lisa Rinna was so desperate for a job she was out on the street with a sandwich board, begging motorists to honk her way back onto Melrose Place. Now character actor Tom Sizemore seems to have fallen on hard times, because he’s resorted to stealing cell phones from Verizon stores. Oh, and pens and highlighters. Hmmm….

Congenital convict Tom Sizemore may be heading back to his old prison cell soon, because he’s the alleged ring leader of one of the most pathetic heists in history … one that was caught on tape.

The LAPD confirms Tom — who spent time behind bars in ’07 for a probation violation — is being investigated for grand theft after he allegedly stole multiple cell phones, a pen and a highlighter from a Verizon Wireless store in L.A. last week.

Sources tell us Verizon’s security cameras clearly see a man who looks a helluva lot like Tom, along with another man, stealing a handful of phones — including one belonging to an employee. The man believed to be Tom was also busted reaching over the counter to pocket a pen and a highlighter.

Sizemore, who has multiple movies coming out in ’09, just completed the term of his parole in January from a prior drug bust. Tom’s lawyer just told us he’s “innocent until proven guilty.”

[From TMZ]

Tom Sizemore easily has one of the longest rap sheets in Hollywood. He dated Heidi Fleiss for years – that can only lead to jail. He’s got major addiction issues and a long list of arrests and jail time related to it. And several assault and domestic violence charges, just to make sure he’s a well-rounded criminal/character actor. Oh, and he’s got a serious meth problem, according to Wikipedia.

Since Sizemore just completed his parole, obviously he can’t get thrown back in jail for violating it. But it sounds like he’ll still be charged, and with the guy’s incredibly long rap sheet, he’ll probably do more time than most would for ripping off a Verizon store. Seriously, how bad must your drug habit be if you’re stealing cell phones? He could also have kleptomania, as it seems odd to steal a highlighter and a pen. I’m pretty sure they don’t have a good resale value on the street. But they’ll be useful for writing long letters from jail or fashioning into a shiv. So maybe Sizemore was just planning ahead.

Here’s Tom leaving Los Angeles Superior Court on March 5th. Image thanks to BauerGriffinOnline. Header of him looking particularly messed up outside of Teddy’s nightclub in February 2006. Image thanks to Pacific Coast News.