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Thief enters 50th year of crime by robbing donation boxes: authorities

It’s his 50th crime-iversary!

A 77-year-old burglar who’s been in and out of jail since the year The Beatles took America by storm was busted again just last month — this time for stealing from a Queens synagogue, authorities told The Post.

Elderly crook Robert Krah — whose trademark dating back to 1964 is targeting donation boxes for the needy — fished money out of several collection boxes at the Long Machraki Hadath Synagogue in Flushing on Jan. 27, officials said.

He then allegedly assaulted Rabbi Henach Savitsky with a coat hanger before Savitsky managed to lock him in the synagogue’s bathroom until police arrived. Krah had 21 $1 bills and 47 $2 bills on him at the time, according to the court complaint.

He later admitted to — and was caught on surveillance — robbing the synagogue’s donation boxes two other times: in May 2012 and Jan. 17, sources said.

“This is what I do,” Krah casually told detectives after his crime, according to a statement read by a prosecutor at his arraignment.

The senior bandit’s rap sheet began 50 years ago in his native Pennsylvania, made a stop in New Jersey and then settled in New York, sources said.

It’s unclear how many busts he has under his belt, but since 1993, he’s been arrested six times for burglary and related crimes in Queens.

Using burglary tools such as screwdrivers and metal picks, he’s broken into Queens institutions such as churches, a yeshiva and a rehab clinic to rob their donation boxes.

“I caught him red-handed,” said Steven Acosta, a maintenance manager at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Roman Catholic Church, who confronted a 69-year-old Krah there in 2005.

“He was using a screwdriver and a clothing hanger to fish the money out of the poor boxes. … He only [netted] a dollar,” said Acosta who called the police on Krah because he stole from the church before and was shocked to learn he was still up to his old ways.

Krah pleaded guilty to petty larceny and was sentenced to a conditional  discharge for the dollar theft.

“He said he had terminal cancer nine years ago. … Maybe he has mental problems. He really needs help,” said Acosta.

Krah has spent anywhere from 90 days to up to a year on Riker’s Island for his sins.

Paul Montgomery, Krah’s lawyer in the synagogue theft, said his client is homeless and has terminal cancer.

“This was a cry for help, your Honor,” Montgomery said at Krah’s arraignment. “I’m not trying to minimize the accusations … [but] incarceration won’t help this situation.”

Judge Sarita Toko replied, “He was caught on video on several occasions. Not sure how this is a cry for help when he’s stealing money from donation boxes.”

Krah was held on $3,000 bail. His next court is Tuesday.

Additional reporting by Lorena Mongelli