Dead People Sent Stimulus Checks

The U.S. government is already paying every no-load, gold-bricking malingerer it can nanny up to but that's not enough. Dead people are now on the payroll. Maybe it's Chicago-style thinking where no one really dies, they just get other people to handle their paperwork.

(Valley Stream, New York) The Social Security Administration is working overtime trying to send out stimulus checks by the June deadline and it's resulted in a bit of confusion -- or typical government incompetence, depending on one's perspective.

Antoniette Santopadre of Valley Stream was expecting a $250 stimulus check.

But when her son finally opened it, they saw that the check was made out to her father, Romolo Romonini, who died in Italy 34 years ago. He'd been a U.S. citizen when he left for Italy in 1933, but only returned to the United Stated (sic) for a seven-month visit in 1969.

It appears that the SSA sent out 52 million checks to individuals whose names are on a list. If there is no record of death, a check is cut. There was no record of Romolo Romonini's death, therefore he was sent a check. An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 dead people were sent checks.

More disturbing, though, is the simple fact that Romono Romonini was never part of the Social Security system so how did his name get to be added to the SSA's list?

Tip: CNestor