A Syracuse man who stole nearly $22,000 in pension payments after his mother’s death has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay the money back.
Michael Glinski, 45, was arrested earlier this year after investigators discovered he had continued to cash his late mother’s pension checks for months after she died. The scheme totaled $21,946.36, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
“Michael Glinski concealed his mother’s death to defraud our pension system,” DiNapoli said. “We will continue our work to track down and bring to justice those who try to defraud the pension system.”
Glinski’s mother retired in 2014 from her job as a clerk with the Village of Solvay Police Department. She also received a survivor pension from her late husband. Both payments should have stopped when she died in October 2021, but Glinski never reported her death.
Instead, he deposited 17 checks into his own account by endorsing them with a power of attorney that had expired when she passed. The New York State and Local Retirement System flagged the issue in July 2022 and launched an investigation.
Guilty plea and full restitution
Glinski pleaded guilty in May to grand larceny in the third degree. He was sentenced in Onondaga County Court by Judge Mary Anne Doherty.
Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick said Glinski violated the integrity of a system meant to support retired public workers and their families.
“He must now suffer the consequences with a conviction and the requirement that he reimburse the pension system for his theft in full,” Fitzpatrick said.
State Police Superintendent Steven G. James called the crime “not victimless,” saying it erodes trust in programs designed to support those who served their communities with integrity.
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