The trail of a popular Manchester 76-year-old's death leads investigators to his neighbor's doorstep.

Alan Bienkowski
Alan Bienkowski
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Alan Bienkowski, 54, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Anthony "Tony" Verdicchio, whose lifeless body was found inside his Pine Acres Manor mobile home on the afternoon of May 13.

If convicted at trial, Bienkowski could be given a sentence ranging from the mandatory minimum of 30 years, without parole eligibility, to life.

His bail in Ocean County is set at $3,000,000. He is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Facility in Freehold in connection with a probe in that jurisdiction, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato.

Authorities say the investigation into Verdicchio's death "could have eaily passed as an episode of "CSI."

Coronato says, "...detectives meticulously processed the Manchester crime scene and isolated forensic evidence linking Bienkowski to the murder."

Verdicchio had last been seen alive on May 12, at the 9 AM service inside St. Paul Lutheran Church in Beachwood.

Manchester police were first called to the trailer, fielding a report of a man unconscious and not breathing. Preliminary findings determined head trauma as a contributing factor to Verdicchio's death. Autopsy results established the cause as blunt force trauma to the head and face, and the manner of death as homicide.

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