Central NY man charged with stealing over $21,000 in pension checks for his dead mother

Syracuse, N.Y. — A Syracuse man was arrested for allegedly stealing over $21,000 in state pension payments meant for his dead mother.

The man, Michael Glinski, 45, was charged Wednesday with grand larceny, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and State Police.

Glinski’s mother was a clerk at the Village of Solvay Police Department. She retired in August of 2014 and received a monthly pension check. She also received her deceased husband’s pension payment as a beneficiary since 2019.

When she passed away in October 2021, both payments should have stopped, but the state and local retirement system was not made aware of her death until July 2022. Her payments then stopped, and an investigation started.

Glinski had deposited 17 pension checks into his personal bank account, totaling $21,946.36, police said. He was able to do this by allegedly signing the checks using his power of attorney which ended at the time of his mother’s death.

Glinski was arraigned in Onondaga County Justice Center Centralized Arraignment Court on a third-degree grand larceny charge. He is due back in court on Jan. 23.

Staff writer Greta Stuckey covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at gstuckey@syracuse.com.