North Bergen police arrested a man whom they called a “career criminal” last week after investigating a burglary of $66,000 from a North Bergen house.
Steven Scarmato, 29, of Union City was arrested Feb. 11 when police tracked his fingerprints to his current location in the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny. He was there for allegedly being caught in a stolen vehicle from West New York.
Commander of the Detective Bureau Lt. Frank Cannella said that the stolen goods were precious Arabic jewelry and the victim’s heirlooms.
The crime had actually happened in November but took several months to investigate. On Nov. 13, police said, the victim left her home on Smith Avenue at 69th Street with her children for about two hours. While she was gone, Scarmato allegedly entered her home through the front window and removed items from the bedroom, police said.
Cannella said that the victim had only recently moved to North Bergen.
“It appears that he was [allegedly] on some type of a crime spree in Hudson County,” said Cannella.
Police said that the victim’s valuable goods have not been recovered, but that they are actively looking throughout the area’s jewelry stores to see if they will turn up. They said that burglaries involving stolen goods of this amount are rare in the area.
Scarmato was charged with burglary and theft and is being represented by a public defender, said Cannella. Cannella said Scarmato alternates between residences in Union City and in Fort Monmouth, N.J., where his parents live.
Police are currently investigating other burglaries in Hudson County and South Jersey to see if Scarmato had involvement.
Long rap sheet
Cannella said that it was possible Scarmanto had been in the victim’s home before.
“We did have leads that there was a possibility that he did construction work there, but we haven’t confirmed that,” said Cannella.
After receiving a positive match on Scarmato, police brought him from the Hudson County Jail to police headquarters to process him.
Cannella said that almost every year for the last few years, Scarmato has been arrested for having possession of a controlled substance, for burglary, or for involvement with stolen vehicles, and that his criminal history is “extensive.”
Tried to make a deal
When West New York Police arrested Scarmato regarding the stolen car, he allegedly tried to make a deal with them to get out of jail, said Cannella.
“He [allegedly] lied and tried to get out of jail and said he committed a crime in Secaucus,” said Cannella. “[He allegedly said] ‘Let me out of jail [and] I’ll tell you I broke into a car in Secaucus,’ [but] there was never a car broken into.”
Cannella said that when West New York Police called Secaucus police, there was no report of a stolen vehicle at that time.
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