Man says he's guilty in faking disability

A Vancouver man accused of faking mental disability for nearly two decades so his mother could collect Social Security benefits has agreed to plead guilty.

Pete Costello, 26, is scheduled to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Friday to one count of Social Security fraud. He would face a standard sentencing range of six months to one year in prison and will be asked to repay the $59,226 he took from the government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Barbosa said.

Beginning shortly before his eighth birthday, Costello began faking mental disability - appearing uncommunicative, picking at his face, slouching - in interviews with agency officials and psychologists, all at his mother's behest, Barbosa said.

The mother, Rosie Marie Costello, was indicted with her son last fall on conspiracy and fraud charges, and prosecutors say she pulled the same trick with her daughter, who has not been charged. All told, Rosie Marie Costello received $222,000 on behalf of the children, court documents said.

The alleged fraud came to light after Social Security workers became suspicious. They subsequently uncovered a video recording of Pete Costello ably contesting a traffic ticket in a Vancouver courtroom.