Mom Faked Son’s Retardation
Prosecutors told a federal court Tuesday that a Washington mother collected disability benefits for her son for nearly 20 years by lying and saying he was retarded.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Barossa told reporters that for nearly 20 years, Rose Marie Costello has collected disability benefits on behalf of her son, whom she claims is retarded. But prosecutors have a problem believing her, since they have a video of Pete Costello contesting a traffic ticket, and he appears to be far from retarded.
Pete and Rosie Marie Costello were indicted in September on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and Social Security fraud, and the case was unsealed in federal court Tuesday. After the case was unsealed, the Costellos, who are from Vancouver, pleaded not guilty.
The indictment accuses Pete Costello of faking retardation since August 1997. Barbosa said that date was selected because that is the time period prosecutors have proof of, but the pair first received benefits 10 years before that, ever since Pete Costello was 8 years old. The benefits cited in the indictment total $111,000.
In meetings with Social Security officials and psychologists through the years, Pete Costello has appeared to be mentally retarded and unable to communicate. His mother repeated told officials that her son was unable to read, write, attend to personal hygiene, take care of himself, or drive a car. Yet prosecutors have a video of Costello contesting a traffic ticket—which not only proves that he was driving a car when he got the ticket, but also proves that he is not unable to read, write, or communicate. "He’s like any other person trying to get out of a traffic ticket," said Barbosa.
Barbosa says prosecutors have filed with the court two videos of Pete Costello that were taken within the past 12 months. In one video, which shows him in an interview with Social Security workers, Costello pretends to be retarded. In the other video, he is in court contesting a traffic ticket. Barbosa said the government doesn’t know whether or not Costello is retarded to some degree, but they have no doubt that he has been "exaggerating whatever he may have, if any."
Barbosa said that obviously Costello’s mother got him involved in this originally, "but he’s been an adult for many years." Instead of living with his mother, Costello lives with a girlfriend and two of her children, and works as an auto body repairman. "This person isn’t being honest with the government about his condition," Barbosa said. "It makes it impossible to sort out."
Court documents filed with the indictment indicate that prosecutors believe Costello’s mother carried out the same fraud with a daughter, whom officials have been unable to locate. The documents say that in all, Costello collected over $200,000 on their behalf.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Barossa told reporters that for nearly 20 years, Rose Marie Costello has collected disability benefits on behalf of her son, whom she claims is retarded. But prosecutors have a problem believing her, since they have a video of Pete Costello contesting a traffic ticket, and he appears to be far from retarded.
Pete and Rosie Marie Costello were indicted in September on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and Social Security fraud, and the case was unsealed in federal court Tuesday. After the case was unsealed, the Costellos, who are from Vancouver, pleaded not guilty.
The indictment accuses Pete Costello of faking retardation since August 1997. Barbosa said that date was selected because that is the time period prosecutors have proof of, but the pair first received benefits 10 years before that, ever since Pete Costello was 8 years old. The benefits cited in the indictment total $111,000.
In meetings with Social Security officials and psychologists through the years, Pete Costello has appeared to be mentally retarded and unable to communicate. His mother repeated told officials that her son was unable to read, write, attend to personal hygiene, take care of himself, or drive a car. Yet prosecutors have a video of Costello contesting a traffic ticket—which not only proves that he was driving a car when he got the ticket, but also proves that he is not unable to read, write, or communicate. "He’s like any other person trying to get out of a traffic ticket," said Barbosa.
Barbosa says prosecutors have filed with the court two videos of Pete Costello that were taken within the past 12 months. In one video, which shows him in an interview with Social Security workers, Costello pretends to be retarded. In the other video, he is in court contesting a traffic ticket. Barbosa said the government doesn’t know whether or not Costello is retarded to some degree, but they have no doubt that he has been "exaggerating whatever he may have, if any."
Barbosa said that obviously Costello’s mother got him involved in this originally, "but he’s been an adult for many years." Instead of living with his mother, Costello lives with a girlfriend and two of her children, and works as an auto body repairman. "This person isn’t being honest with the government about his condition," Barbosa said. "It makes it impossible to sort out."
Court documents filed with the indictment indicate that prosecutors believe Costello’s mother carried out the same fraud with a daughter, whom officials have been unable to locate. The documents say that in all, Costello collected over $200,000 on their behalf.
posted by Mr Farnham at
7:59 PM
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