81-Year-Old Veteran Held Hostage in New York Motel for 4 Years

Perry Coniglio was charged with unlawful imprisonment and grand larceny for holding a former Marine captive in this Highlands, N.Y., motel for years, while stealing the vet’s benefits checks. GOOGLE STREET VIEW

A New York man is accused of holding an 81-year-old Marine Corps veteran hostage in a motel for at least four years in order to steal his benefits checks.

Forty-three-year-old Perry Coniglio was arrested Tuesday in his room adjoining the victim’s at a motel in Highlands. The motel is next door to the Hudson Valley town’s police station.

Police say Coniglio used brute force and intimidation to get the elderly and diminished veteran to cooperate with him. Investigators say the victim received three checks every month. The amounts weren’t released.

The victim has been taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Coniglio is being held in jail Thursday on $15,000 bail. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.

The charges against him include grand larceny and unlawful imprisonment.

SOURCE: AP