Long Island Fugitive On The Run For 41 Years Caught In Arizona

YAPHANK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- An Arizona man has been extradited to New York more than 40 years after he fled the state after a rape conviction.

Todd Matus, 62, was sentenced in Suffolk County to five to 15 years in prison after being convicted of rape and sodomy in 1976, according to authorities.

He allegedly jumped bail, fleeing to Vermont, Nevada, Hawaii before ending up in Arizona, according to Suffolk County police.

Matus had been living under an assumed name for 40 years, but when he tried to get Social Security benefits last summer officials discovered the person whose alias Matus was using had died in 2005, police said.

Matus was arrested last fall in Flagstaff, Arizona, and charged with forgery and identity theft.

Flagstaff Police Department discovered Matus' real identity and he was turned over to the Suffolk County Police Fugitive Unit after completing his sentence in Arizona.

He was returned to Long Island on Wednesday and arraigned the next day.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)