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Clifton police had been looking for the bandit who robbed a 77-year-old man who was visiting at East Ridgelawn Cemetery off Main Avenue in Clifton last month.
A similar incident was reported at Bloomfield Cemtery the same week.
Fairview police caught Todd Scott Allen, 57, of Brooklyn after he returned to Mt. Moriah Cemetery a day after they said he stole cash, credit cards and more from a woman who was there paying respects.
After workers at Mt. Moriah alerted police that Allen was there, officers found him trying to hide behind a gravestone, Police Chief Martin Kahn said.
Questioned by the officers, Allen said he was there paying respects, then randomly pointed to a nearby headstone, the chief said.
Allen the day before had taken a wallet with $75 in cash, 10 cards and a MetroCard in it from a mourner’s car, he said.
He even used one of the cards at a North Bergen deli, Kahn said.
Fairview police charged Allen with burglary and theft before turning him over to Clifton police.
Clifton police charged Allen with robbery with injuries, burglary and credit card theft in connection with the mugging at their graveyard.
Allen threatened the victim, knocked him to the ground and then swiped the man’s wallet and cellphone from his car, they said.
Allen remained held in the Bergen County Jail following his arrest this past Thursday after a judge subsequently rejected his release.
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