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M'town Police Say Man Was Fishing For Cash At Gas Station
MIDDLETOWN - Township police arrested a Leonardo man on charges of Burglary and Criminal Attempt early last Tuesday.
Pietro G. Amato, also known as Peter Amato, age 32, of Leonardville Road, was arrested at about 2 by Corporal W. Craig Slocum of the Middletown Twp. Slocum was patrolling in the Leonardo section of the township at 2 a.m. when he noticed a person near a window of a closed gas station on Route 36 and Avenue D. As Slocum approached the station he saw Amato leaning into an open window, and he quickly pulled back out of the window when he became aware of Slocum's presence. Amato told the officer he was an employee of the station and was out for a walk when he noticed the window open. He stated he was reaching in the open window to try to use the business telephone to call the owner to advise him of the open window.
However, Slocum noticed a fishing line that extended from the open window and attached to a fishing hook on the floor inside the station below the open cash register. According to police, the cash register contained an undetermined amount of cash wrapped in a rubber band and Amato was allegedly using the fish hook in an attempt to snag the cash wrapped in the rubber band as the cash register was just out of arms' reach from the open window.
Amato's bail was set at $20,000 with no 10 percent option for release permitted.
