Dead Men Tell

BOSTON – A man was charged with cashing his dead friend's disability checks at St. Mary’s CU and selling the dead man’s van, taking about $25,000 in profits.

Credit union officials said they contacted police after determining that someone was fraudulently cashing the dead man’s checks. Police determined the credit union member supposedly cashing disability checks had died before the most recent checks were brought to the credit union.

The friend, identified as Floyd Russell, 50, told police he was cashing the checks to cover the cost of the man's funeral, according to the police report.

Russell also forged a Registry of Motor Vehicles document so he could sell the van, police said.

Authorities allege the forgeries occurred between October 2008 and May 2009. The credit union member died in September 2008, said police.

Russell has been charged with 23 counts of forgery and larceny.