Pelham Man Pleads Not Guilty to Stealing $143,385 in Dead Neighbor's Pension
Updated
Updated · The Journal News · Jul 31
Pelham Man Pleads Not Guilty to Stealing $143,385 in Dead Neighbor's Pension
3 articles · Updated · The Journal News · Jul 31
Summary
Danilo Pesce, 60, pleaded not guilty in Albany County Court to second-degree grand larceny after prosecutors accused him of taking $143,385 from a deceased neighbor's state teacher pension.
Monthly payments of $3,497 to retired teacher Jack Lee Morgan should have stopped when he died in March 2020, but the New York State Teachers' Retirement System kept depositing money until April 2024.
Pesce, Morgan's former caretaker, had been added to both Morgan's home deed and bank account before the death and allegedly began withdrawing funds that month for home maintenance and renovations.
The state sent $171,879 over four years and recovered $28,594, leaving the alleged theft at $143,385; Pesce was released without bail and is due back in court Aug. 19.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison in a case the attorney general said exposed misuse of pension payments meant to end when a beneficiary dies.