US:Two New York men wheeled the corpse of their friend around the pavements of midtown Manhattan in an office chair in a failed attempt to cash his $355 social security cheque, police said yesterday.
Virgilio Cintron (66) had died of natural causes when two of his friends, both aged 65, brought him to a cheque-cashing facility in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood on Tuesday.
"They were trying to pass him off as still being alive," police spokesman Paul Browne said.
The two suspects left the corpse on the path outside the shop while they attempted to cash the cheque, but the clerk knew Mr Cintron and asked if he could see him. The two men promised to bring him right back, but when they went outside to retrieve him a crowd had gathered around the dead man.
An on-duty detective who had been eating lunch nearby spotted Mr Cintron and immediately realised he was dead, putting an end to the caper.