Man Accused Of Stealing Dead Brother’s Pension Benefits

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A Florida man is accused of stealing more than $180,000 in his late brother's New York pension benefits over seven years.

Seventy-one-year-old Robert Schusteritsch was arraigned Thursday and pleaded not guilty to grand larceny and criminal impersonation. He's accused of stealing pension benefits from the state and local employees retirement systems that were sent to his late brother Martin Petschauer between July 2008 and September 2015.

Authorities say Petschauer's pension benefits were being deposited into a bank account that Schusteritsch was the sole trustee of. When Petschauer died in 2008, officials say his brother continued to access and spend the money.

The state retirement system stopped the payments in 2015 when it discovered that Petschauer was dead.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]