Pelham man pays back $147,000 for stealing dead neighbor's pension

A Pelham man has paid back nearly $150,000 after admitting he took pension money from a dead neighbor.

Danilo Pesce, 60, entered a guilty plea to fourth-degree grand larceny in Albany County Court on Monday, Nov. 2, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James. He will pay $147,000 in restitution, which includes $6,000 in interest, to the New York State Teachers' Retirement Fund.

The payments stemmed from the estate of Jack Lee Morgan, a retired teacher from the Pelham Union Free School District. Morgan retired in 1991 and died in 2020. Because he had no living beneficiary, his pension was supposed to stop immediately after his death. However, the retirement system was never told he had passed away. It continued depositing $3,497 into his bank account every month until officials learned of his death in April 2024 and stopped the payments.

Pesce had served as Morgan's caretaker before the teacher died. He was listed on both the bank account and the deed to Morgan's Pelham home. Prosecutors said Pesce began withdrawing money from the account on March 17, 2020, less than a month after Morgan died. Investigators found that Pesce used the funds to maintain and renovate the house, where he and his wife lived part-time. In total, he withdrew $141,968 in benefits that should no longer have been paid.

Pesce was arrested on July 30 and initially charged with second-degree grand larceny. He pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance. He changed his plea to guilty before Judge Andra Ackerman on Monday.

A sentencing date has not yet been set for Pesce.