An Atlantic County man allegedly responsible for dozens of burglaries over several counties was ordered held in jail this week following a break-in March 12 at Carluccio’s Coal Fired Pizza in Northfield.
An employee discovered the break-in when he arrived for work around 9 a.m. last Thursday, owner Carlo Citera of Margate said. The glass front door was smashed, office door damaged and two safes broken into.
Northfield Police responded immediately. The thief got $1,300 in cash, but the damage to the pizza parlor was much greater, Citera said.
Vito Anderson continually looked around and did not face the camera during his virtual detention hearing March 18, 2026.Following an investigation that led to several other jurisdictions, including Brigantine and Galloway Township, NJ State Police arrested Vito Anderson, 40, who’s last known address was the Atlantic City Homeless Shelter. His prior residence was in Pleasantville.
Anderson is also accused of burglarizing businesses and homes in Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean and Camden counties and has 73 pending charges in multiple jurisdictions. There also are allegations of sexually gratifying himself in public. He was on release from Camden County and has several cases pending in Atlantic County’s Mental Health Court.
The store’s surveillance cameras showed Anderson was in the shop for about an hour, spending about 20 minutes lying on the floor.
“That was crazy,” Citera said.
About $1,300 in cash was taken, with an estimated $2,700 in damages, according to the charges.
“I’m angry because of all the damage he caused, but I’m happy that he was arrested,” Citera said. “The cops did an unbelievable job finding him.”
Departments joined together in tracking the suspect. Police in Brigantine and Northfield worked together and realized their cases pointed to the same man.
Galloway Township police also had investigated Anderson, with a local tattoo shop helping lead to his arrest in 2024.
Galloway Police confirmed he was the same suspect Brigantine was seeking, Det. Peter Rao wrote in one of the Affidavits of Probable Cause obtained by BreakingAC.
Facial recognition software was used to confirm identity, and a check of his phone showed it was “pinged” at Carluccio’s.
Anderson was arrested hours later, when NJ State Police notified the local investigators that their suspect was gambling at Bally’s Atlantic City.
When he was taken into custody, Anderson had dollar bills in rubber-banded stacks of $50, and coins wrapped with LOOMIS, exactly as described in the Carluccio’s robbery.
Anderson’s detention hearing was held Wednesday. Superior Court Judge William Miller order him to be held in jail not only to protect the community, but to help the defendant.
“The only reason I’m detaining him is for a social worker to get to that jail, get him before a Mental Health Court judge, and readjust his program,” Miller said. “Whatever program he is on now isn’t working.”
Miller pointed to Anderson’s behavior during the detention hearing, as the defendant constantly fidgeted, rubbed and brushed at his head, talked to himself and turned away from the camera.
Anderson’s current charges date to 2024, and include three dozen cases in Atlantic, Cape May and Camden counties. On March 11, 2024, there were seven properties burglarized in Stone Harbor, Cape May County. He was also tied to the burglaries of six businesses and a home in the area of Mechanic Street in Haddonfield, Camden County.
The allegations paint the picture of a prolific career burglar.
His history includes life in foster care, abuse, mental illness and homelessness, according to what was presented at his detention hearing.
“If anyone has a soul, they can see he’s suffering,” the judge said. “The court is very mindful that a lot of this is probably coming from his mental health deficits.”
Miller said he could not release Anderson under the current conditions, noting that he no longer has the option of “furloughing” his custody to a mental health facility.
Instead, he made sure that the record would note that the Mental Health Court needed to institute a more intensive treatment program for Anderson.
“It’s only for that interim period until we can get him back into his mental health treatment program with a stepped-up treatment level,” Miller said. “I think that balances out the community’s right to protection but also gives him the pathway to getting the appropriate level of treatment.”
The judge acknowledged businesses and residents who have been victims of burglaries totaling thousands of dollars in cash, and even more in damages, but “As I look at him on the screen, he’s suffering,” Miller said.
