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BROOKLYN (CBS) ― A Brooklyn man has gone above and beyond in giving a new and disturbing meaning to the term "death benefits."

Thomas Parkin, 49, was arrested and charged with criminal impersonation, multiple counts of grand larceny and forgery, and other related charges after dressing as his elderly mother – donning a wig, cardigan, thick sunglasses, fresh manicure, stuffed breasts, and even an oxygen tank – all so he and an accomplice could pocket her Social Security benefits and Social Service payments.

Now to the really disturbing part: His 77-year-old mother's been dead for nearly six years.

Parkin, along with the help of 47-year-old Mhilton Rimolo, who posed as the woman's nephew, were booked on a 47-count indictment for an elaborate scheme which police are calling a "multi-year campaign of fraud that was unparalleled in its scope and brazenness." Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced the indictment on Wednesday morning.

"This guy's not stupid, this guy is very smart. And I think his schemes were absolutely brilliant," Hynes said.

Police say the pair first began their plot shortly after Parkin's mother, Irene Prusik, died in September 2003. It was then that the suspects went after the man who bought Prusik's Park Slope house after it foreclosed earlier that year. According to police, the men filed lawsuits against the new owner in Prusik's name and claimed the deed he purchased was invalid and actually forged by Parkin. The lawsuit supposedly filed by Prusik claimed that she was the rightful owner of the home.

The indictment also claims the two men received Prusik's Social Security benefits as well as her rental assistance from the city, netting a total of $117,000 over the six years. Parkin also obtained a $940,000 mortgage loan on the Park Slope home. During the six years she was dead, Parkin claimed his mother was his landlord and that he couldn't cut the rent because of a disability. Rimolo was listed as the property manager.

Investigators say the men were able to get away with the crime for so long because they doctored the woman's death certificate, providing a false Social Security number and date of birth, to keep her alive – at least financially. In order to convince officials that she really was alive, Parkin would taking his playing pretend to a sickening level that Norman Bates may even question, dressing up in a blonde wig, red cardigan, complete with polished nails, lipstick, and, for added effect, he'd bring an oxygen tank. Rimolo would come with him and say he was her nephew.

"He wore a scarf around his neck to prevent us from seeing his Adam's apple," said Michael Vecchione of the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.

The pair was caught on surveillance camera during a visit to the DMV.

An investigation into their creepy scheme began after the man who bought Prusik's home at the foreclosure auction came to police believing that she was filing false affidavits in the five years he'd been fighting to keep the home. Incredibly, unaware prosecutors had already begun an investigation into his actions, Parkin walked into the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in March to report that he and his mother were victims of real estate fraud. He claimed his mother was the rightful owner of the property and that the new owner had been using illegal forms of coercion and filing false documents in court filings against them, according to the indictment.

To the investigators surprise, Rimolo and Parkin agreed to arrange a meeting with Prusik at the home on 6th Avenue. When prosecutors and detective investigators arrived, they found Parkin dressed up as his mother, in the same getup seen on surveillance camera.

"One of the first clues was that he had rather large hands," said Assistant DA Dennis Ring. "It was unsual to see a 77-year-old woman with big hands that could palm a basketball."

The duo was arrested on Tuesday and were arraigned Wednesday afternoon. Most of the money they acquired is believed to have been transferred to a bank account in Costa Rica.



 

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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