Actually it seems like you robbed yourself.

In the US, verizon is a CDMA network not gsm. So a gsm phone will not work here on the network. They however can roam on overseas gsm networks. So it seems like you need to go shopping again and find a phone that is verizon branded that will work, or see about getting your money back for your service. Either way it goes however, sarcasm will get you nowhere.