Woman stole pension benefits after death of dad, a retired Nassau police detective, state comptroller says

The daughter of a late Nassau County police detective was charged with stealing more than $240,000 in pension payments after his death, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Friday.

Comptroller’s officials said Alayne Bertolino, the daughter of Nassau County police Det. Joseph Bertolino, continued to collect her father’s pension payments for 4 1/2 years after his death in 2014.

Joseph Bertolino retired from the Nassau County Police Department in 1991 and moved to Georgia where he died at the age of 69, officials said.

Alayne Bertolino, 48, of Georgia, continued to collect pension payments through 56 monthly deposits after his death and filed a change of address form in 2017. She collected a total of $246,272 until the pension system became aware of his death, according to the comptroller’s office.

The comptroller’s office, State Police and the Albany County district attorney began investigating the payments.

State officials said she made multiple transfers into her family bank accounts and used the money to buy a Mercedes and a $556,000 seven-bedroom, five-bathroom home.

She was arraigned in Albany City Court and ordered to return to court April 14. Attorney information was not available in online court records, and authorities did not list her attorney.

“The defendant took advantage of her father’s death to profit handsomely at the expense of New York’s retirement system and fuel an extravagant lifestyle,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “We will seek full restitution and continue to steadfastly guard the pension system from fraud.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.