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The Scioto Drive resident called police after pulling up around 1:40 a.m. Sunday and finding an unknown car parked in his driveway, Capt. John Bakelaar said.
Responding officers found Peter McElkenny, 43, hiding inside, the captain said.
Once a respected businessman, McElkenny apparently had been squatting in an unrented house on Lakeshore Drive in Oakland for several months before the landlord became aware of his presence, neighbors there said.
He then "set up house" in the Franklin Lakes victim's home -- and took a few of the victim's valuables, Bakelaar said.
Police charged McElkenny with burglary, theft and trespassing.
He was sent to the Bergen County Jail, only to be ordered released by a judge on Monday pending further court action, under New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform law.
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