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(CNN) - Samuel Sabatino, 82, spent his holiday weekends driving from Florida to Manhattan, and possibly to other states. But when he got there, instead of relaxing and sightseeing, he passed in front of the porters in luxury buildings and entered to steal empty apartments, prosecutors said.
He has committed at least 10 robberies that resulted in $ 400,000 worth of items for five years alone in New York City, according to authorities.
This year alone, it is believed that he stole goods worth $ 100,000 in three apartments, prosecutors said. He was arrested in New York City last weekend and faces charges of robbery, attempted robbery and major theft.
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"We continue to gather additional evidence and evaluate incidents that occurred before this year and we hope to file charges for additional serious crimes," says his bail request.
When he was contacted by phone on Friday, his lawyer said he was not available for comment.
The researchers called him 'The Holiday Thief'
Investigators called the culprit the thief on vacation due to a repeated pattern of holiday robberies, specifically Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day.
Detective Kevin Gieras of the New York Police Department has been investigating the theft series since 2014, New York police spokesman Phillip Walzak told CNN. They were residential robberies in luxury apartment buildings, police said.
In 2015, investigators took surveillance images of a nanny camera and asked the public for help in identifying the suspect.
His recent arrest was for crimes allegedly committed this year, but police said they are trying to link him with more than a dozen open cases.
The suspect carried a black bag during the robberies
In a series of documents, the authorities described how the suspect operated.
He would enter luxury apartment buildings in Manhattan's Upper Eastside with a black bag, prosecutors said. He would go to an upper floor or near the top floor of the building, looking for an apartment with signs that residents had left, such as newspapers and packages left out
Then he would enter and steal tens of thousands of dollars in items such as watches, wedding rings and diamond and gold jewelry.
Sabatino has a long history of robberies and was charged in 2001 in other cases, prosecutors said. He had allegedly been living under a new identity with a new name and a California driver's license, registration and accounts. However, that identity was among several aliases, authorities said.
On August 31, an employee of the New York County building arrested him while trying to enter a building with a black bag, authorities said. He said he was there to visit his cousin Suarez, and that he could be in the wrong building, but the employee told him that no one with that name lives there. He left that building with an empty black bag and was arrested shortly after, police said.
The New York Times reported that, at the time, it was under surveillance of civilian-dressed agents.
Tracking the suspect's vehicle from Florida to New York City provided a break in the investigation and helped his arrest, prosecutors said.
“The only reason he was finally caught was through an extensive and high-tech investigation in which we finally tracked the defendant's vehicle from Florida to the New York area, and through the stellar work of the police and the assistance of jurisdictions out of state in this investigation, ”indicates his bail request.
Your bond was set at $ 250,000 in cash or a $ 500,000 bonus. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Kristina Sgueglia of CNN contributed to this report.
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