Man Charged In Theft Of Vehicles, Wallets At MTA Train Station In Hudson Valley: Police

A man has been hit with several grand larceny charges after allegedly stealing from unlocked vehicles at a train station in the Hudson Valley, and in two cases, even stealing the vehicles themselves.

Many of the thefts involved unlocked vehicles at the Southeast Metro-North train station in Putnam County.
Photo Credit: *Google Maps street view/Pixabay via Franz P. Sauerteig*

Ben Crnic

06/30/2023 12:30 p.m.

Putnam County resident Thomas L. Capalbo of Patterson, age 39, was arrested on Friday, June 23 around 12:30 p.m. for his alleged role in several thefts at the Southeast Metro-North train station, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office announced on Thursday, June 29.

Capalbo's arrest stemmed from a joint investigation between the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police that was started after an unlocked pickup truck with keys left inside was stolen from the station on Thursday, June 1.

This truck was later found in Westchester within the city of Yonkers, sheriff's deputies said.

Weeks after this, on Monday, June 12, authorities were alerted of a wallet that had been stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked in front of a residence on Route 312 in Southeast. Cash and credit cards were allegedly taken from the wallet and used to make unauthorized purchases at businesses in Southeast, Mount Kisco, and the Bronx.

Days after this, on Friday, June 16, a third report was made to MTA Police regarding another wallet that had been stolen from an unlocked vehicle at Southeast Station. This wallet also had credit cards taken from it, which were similarly used to make unauthorized purchases.

A few days after the wallet was taken from this vehicle, the car itself was taken, as the owner had left the keys inside, sheriff's deputies said.

This vehicle was later found parked on a side street in the Putnam Lake section of Patterson and recovered by MTA Police.

The joint investigation eventually identified Capalbo as a suspect in all of these incidents and resulted in his arrest without incident on Friday as he was leaving a train at the Southeast station.

Capalbo confessed to committing the thefts in interviews with investigators, sheriff's deputies said. He is charged with the following:

Several counts of third and fourth-degree grand larceny;
Fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

He was arraigned on all of these charges in Southeast Court and released without bail for a future court appearance, authorities said.

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