NYC man on trial for dressing up as dead mother to cash her Social Security checks

A trial began in Brooklyn Monday for a wacky son who allegedly impersonated his dead mom so he could cash her Social Security checks.

Thomas Prusik-Parkin is accused of collecting Irene Prusik's government benefits and rent subsidies for six years after her 2003 death -- with the help of a wig, some nail polish, a scarf and his mom's favorite bright-red dress.

Her trademark look is even mentioned on the 73-year-old woman's headstone in Staten Island's Ocean View cemetery. "Everyone is talking about the lady in red," it says.

Click here for more on this story from the New York Post.