Perry Coniglio was arrested Tuesday in his room adjoining the victim’s at a motel in Highlands. The motel sits next door to the police station in the Hudson Valley town, about 50 miles north of New York City.

Coniglio, 43, used brute force and intimidation to get the mentally diminished veteran to cooperate with him, police said. The elderly man has advanced dementia, according to police.

Police Chief Jack Quinn said the veteran received a “tremendous amount of money” each month in Social Security benefits, pension checks and food stamps, though investigators would not divulge the exact total.

The veteran was taken to a hospital for evaluation. His name hasn’t been released by police.