Bronx grave robbers steal $160,000 in bronze from NY cemetery

The historic St. Raymond cemetery in the Bronx discovered last Friday that $160,00 worth of bronze had been stolen from graves. The thief or thieves cut off door handles name plates and vents from 65 mausoleums between Friday and Monday, when the thefts were discovered.

Police have made no arrests and don’t know whether there was more than one thief at work. Authorities noted that lax security at the cemetery made the grave robbing easier.

“With the amount of money we pay to bury here, there should be better security. They have to put someone here to take care of this place. It’s very, very sad,” Rosa Miranda, told the New York Post on her way to visit her sister’s grave.

About 4,000 people per year are buried at the mostly Catholic cemetery, making it one of the busiest in the country. St. Raymond covers 180 acres in Throgs Neck and is the final resting place of such notables as singer Billie Holiday and world champion boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho.