The “dinnertime bandit,” a daring New York cat burglar who ripped off millions in jewelry from the wealthy while they dined in their mansions, has been nabbed in Belgium after nine years on the lam, authorities said.
Law-enforcement officials have linked the elusive Alan Golder to 16 heists in Greenwich, Conn., that netted nearly $1 million in stolen baubles, and to 50 burglaries in posh enclaves in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that added another $5 million to his booty.
The brazen burglaries took place following Golder’s release from prison in 1996 after serving 15 years for the fatal shooting in 1978 of Long Island real estate developer Lawrence Lever during a botched heist in his Old Brookville mansion.
The bullet was fired by one of Golder’s two accomplices.
When Golder was arrested for the murder, he admitted he had traveled the country plundering mansions in Westchester and on Long Island’s North Shore as well as in Florida, Texas and California. The homes of singer Glenn Campbell and the late “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson were among those targeted.
He boasted that his haul in those burglaries was worth close to $6 million – and that was before he allegedly went on his equally lucrative post-prison burglary spree.
Golder, who ratted out a mob-run crime ring to get a reduced sentence for the murder, vanished in October 1997 after he was identified as a suspect in the Greenwich heists.
Among the items authorities found in his Queens apartment was a 13-page proposal for a book about his exploits titled “Precious Metal: Confessions of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Jewel Thief.”
Golder, now 51, eluded authorities until he was arrested last week.
He was picked up on charges filed in Belgium, said Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra. It’s not known what those charges are.
Sierra said the Justice Department will work with Greenwich authorities in seeking Golder’s extradition.
Retired Nassau County homicide Detective Al Vincinere, who arrested Golder for the Lever murder, said he suspects the cat burglar was in Belgium “because that’s where most of the big stuff in stolen jewelry is sent from this country.”
The diamond ring stolen in the Lever heist was fenced in Belgium, he noted.
In his book proposal, the flamboyant Golder promised “a sort of rock ‘n’ roll version of ‘Wiseguy,’ with a dash of ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ and a twist of ‘Oliver Twist.’ ”
He was dubbed the “Dinnertime Bandit” because his m.o. involved climbing into a second-story window of a secluded mansion to steal jewelry from the master bedroom while its occupants were downstairs eating dinner.
“He was a real smooth character,” Vincinere said. “He had tenacity, and he was physically very adept. He could climb up the side of a building and get into a house through the roof, using just sneakers and his hands, carrying only a small bag [for his loot] over his shoulder.”
He said Golder “started out as a petty thief, robbing delis and small stores and homes on Long Island,” where he grew up in Island Park and Rocky Point.
“He was fencing stuff in the city when he met a father and son on 47th Street who taught him to how to get in on dinnertime burglaries. They saw he had talent and taught him how to look for good jewelry,” said Vincinere.
He said Golder would visit real estate brokers in wealthy areas, arriving in an expensive car, accompanied by a beautiful woman and claiming to be a rock star from California.
“He would say he was interested in buying secluded property for a music studio, and they would show him beautiful homes for sale.
“He’d case them and then burglarize them,” Vincinere said.