Man Who Stole Bag With $150K Bought Chevy Tahoe: Mahwah Police

One man has been arrested and a warrant has been issued for another in connection with the theft of $150,000 that was left on the side of the road in a satchel on Industrial Avenue Monday, police said.

Alton Harvey, 42 of Hillside, was charged with theft of mislaid property. Harvey allegedly used the money to purchase a Chevy Tahoe SUV on the same day the theft occurred, said Chief James Batelli.

Two workers from a local ATM accidentally left the money in a satchel outside a business on Industrial Avenue Monday, police said. They drove away and when they returned 15 minutes later, the money was gone.

Video footage from cameras at area businesses showed a man getting out of white van and taking the satchel before taking used tires from a nearby business, police said. The footage was not clear enough to read the vehicle registration or identify the occupants.

Police ruled out the ATM workers as suspects earlier this week, Batelli said.

Mahwah detectives searched a license plate database and located the white GMC Savana van in Irvington that Harvey and another man were in when they took the money, Batelli said.

Mahwah police detectives also determined that a Chevy Tahoe with temporary license plates was seen in Irvington that it may have belonged to one of the people involved in the theft, Batelli said.

The Tahoe was purchased and registered later in the day Monday after the theft occurred, police said.

Police watched the Tahoe and found and charged Harvey with theft of mislaid property, a second-degree crime, Batelli said.

Harvey was remanded to the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $125,000 bail, with no 10 percent option. Harvey has 10 felony convictions on his record, including arrests for weapons and narcotics charges, escape, and resisting arrest, Batelli said.

Detectives identified Jamar A. Bludson, 35 of Newark, as the GMC Savana’s passenger, police said, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He has been charged with theft of mislaid property. Anyone who knows Bludson’s whereabouts should contact the Mahwah Police Department at 201-529-1000.

(Pictured: Alton Harvey, 42/Courtesy of the Mahwah Police Department)