Woman, son sentenced for faking retardation

[tjwash]

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TACOMA, Washington (AP) -- A woman who coached her children to fake mental retardation to collect disability benefits was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday.

Rosie Costello, 46, must also pay nearly $288,000 in restitution after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to defraud the government and Social Security fraud. Last week, a judge sentenced her son, Pete Costello, to 13 months in prison.

The scheme was discovered after Pete Costello, now 28, was seen contesting a traffic ticket in a Vancouver, Washington, courtroom. Since he was 8, his mother had represented to state and federal officials that he was so severely retarded he could not perform simple tasks.

Earlier, she had used the same scheme with her daughter, Marie, beginning when the girl was 4. Investigators have been unable to find the daughter.

The sentence imposed was longer than the federal guideline.

U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton called Costello a "habitual offender" who "asked her children to do despicable things," according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle.

"I'm sorry for what I did," Costello told the court. "I had a very hard life. I have grandchildren out there who need me. If I could, I would take it all back."

Don't get me going....my wife is a social worker with Developmentally Disabled people. Her caseload is stretched to the max, and they keep cutting their budget every year. Add to this the fact that mouth breathing freeper types LOVE to use instances like this to scream and stamp their feet about how this is "proof" that we need to eliminate all social services and give the money to defense contractors instead.

OK, damn it I'm going...STOP.

**deep breath--let it out slowly**The thing that jumps out here, is that the guy is 28 freaking years old. At some point you just have to be able to say...I'm getting a job and moving out now mom. It's been real...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. barbara barbara barbara. George is already grown up. Shame on you for

pulling that stuff.

[slackmaster]

2. This was covered in an episode of South Park

[ellie]

5. It was also

covered on Just Shoot Me: chicken pot, chicken pot, chicken pot pie!

[Geoff R. Casavant]

6. God, that line always, ALWAYS makes me bust a gut.

Whenever I see a "caught faking retardation" thread, I always scroll to see who was first to type, "Chicken pot pie!"

[DemGa]

3. The son needed psychological help

and so he goes to prison? That'll fix him.

[Javaman]

4. "I had a very hard life. I have grandchildren out there who need me. "

So she can continue her scam.