Thursday, June 18, 2009

Thomas Parkin - I Am My Mother

Thomas Parkin had a very dark secret to hide. And he managed to keep this secret hidden for six years until now.

I am sure most of you have watched the classic movie Psycho, where Norman Bates impersonates his dead mother.

Thomas Parkin is the real Norman Bates. He impersonated his dead mother for 6 years so that he could collect the benefit on behalf of her even after her death. According to news reports he has manage to collect around $117,00 in government benefits.

How could he manage to fool the authorities all these years? Could he have done it all alone? The answer is obviously no. Thomas Parkin had an accomplice, Mhilton Rimolo. Rimolo acted as Thomas Parkin’s nephew.



Irene Prusik passed away in 2003, but in April this year she appeared at the Department of Motor Vehicle in Brooklyn to renew her driving license. Parkin was pretty convincing during the whole incident with the help of his accomplice. He had on large sunglasses and scarf around his neck and his nephew Rimolo beside him.

“I am my mother” was what Parkin told the authorities during the time of his arrest because he held Irene Prusik during her last breath.

So how did Parkin manage to fool the authorities for such a long time? The scam started right after the death of his mother. He provided the funeral director with an invalid Social Security number and date of birth so that her death would not be registered in the government records.

His daring act made him $700 a month from the Social Security checks. He even had the audacity to pose as his mother to file for bankruptcy which earned him another $39,000 according to the authorities.

So how the authorities did finally discovered the scam? It all began when Prusik’s home was sold at a foreclosure. Parkin of course challenged the purchase and sued the new owner on his mother’s behalf so that he would not be evicted from his home. Eventually both sides contacted the district attorney and both played blame game of accusing each other of fraud. It was only then that the investigator found out that Prusik was actually dead. They found her tombstone in a local cemetery.

In order to capture Thomas Parkin in the act, the local authorities set up a meeting and played along with the two disputing parties. Parkin then showed for the interview wearing a red cardigan, lipstick, manicured nails and breathing through the oxygen tank. That is when the authorities knew that they had their scam artist caught in his act.


Thomas Prusik Parkin

Watch a video of how Thomas Prusik Parkin tried to fool the people at the DMV thinking that he is Irene Pusik, his mother that passed away in 2003



Thomas Parkin Impersonated His Dead Mother Irene Prusik

Thomas Parkin is really making the headline news locally and even abroad. How did the authorities manage to capture him? Well, Irene Prusik the deceased mother of Thomas showed up one day at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Brooklyn to renew her driving license. This made the authorities suspicious which eventually lead to the arrest of Thomas Parkin.

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Irene Prusik has been dead for six years. But in April, someone showed up at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Brooklyn, New York to renew her driver's licence.

The explanation given by US prosecutors: It was her son, in a dress.

Thomas Parkin, 49, was charged on Wednesday in the bizarre plot to impersonate his deceased mother so he could collect $US117,000 ($147,207) in government benefits. He and the man accused of being his accomplice, Mhilton Rimolo, pleaded not guilty to grand larceny, criminal impersonation and other charges.

Both men were ordered held on $US1 million bail. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to phone messages left on Wednesday. More..

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Thomas Parkin The Real Norman Bates

I am sure that everyone knows the character Norman Bates from the thriller Psycho. Recently it was discovered that Thomas Parkin has been impersonating his dead mother Irene Prusik for six years to collect money from the government.



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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. More..

Thomas Parkin Caught On Video Camera

it looks like Thomas Parkin might be facing 25 years in prison for impersonating his dead 77 year old mother.

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thomas parkin at DMV

A 49-year-old man impersonated his dead 77-year-old mother in paperwork -- and sometimes in person -- for six years, collecting more than $100,000 in her name, according to the Brooklyn district attorney.
Surveillance video shows Thomas Parkin, left, dressed as his mother at a DMV office on April 29, authorities say.

Surveillance video shows Thomas Parkin, left, dressed as his mother at a DMV office on April 29, authorities say.
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The man sometimes dressed as his mother and, with an accomplice, collected more than $52,000 in Social Security benefits and another $65,000 in city rent subsidies, prosecutors said.

Thomas Parkin and a man accused of being his accomplice, Mhilton Rimolo, 47, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a sweeping 47-count grand jury indictment that includes charges of perjury, grand larceny, conspiracy, forgery and criminal impersonation, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes told reporters.

Their bail was set at $1 million each. If convicted, they could each face up to 25 years in prison. More..

Thomas Parkin

thomas parkin
Irene Prusik has been dead for six years. But in April, someone showed up at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Brooklyn to renew her driver's license. The explanation given by prosecutors rivals the Hitchcock classic "Psycho": It was her son, Thomas Parkin, in drag.

Thomas Parkin, 49, was charged Wednesday in the bizarre plot to impersonate his deceased mother so he could collect $117,000 in government benefits. He and the man accused of being his accomplice, Mhilton Rimolo, pleaded not guilty to grand larceny, criminal impersonation and other charges.

Both men were ordered held on $1 million bail. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to phone messages left on Wednesday.

District Attorney Charles Hynes said the scam was "unparalleled in its scope and brazenness."

Authorities claim that following his arrest, Parkin told them that because he held Prusik when she breathed her last breath, "I am my mother."

Thomas Parkin, who lived with his mother, was accused of hatching the scheme after she passed away in 2003 at age 73. He managed to conceal the death by falsifying her death certificate, then collected $52,000 from her $700-a-month Social Security checks over the next six years, prosecutors said. More..