Maybe he had his mother's eyes, but not her voice, and that's what might send Serafettin Gencel, a 47-year-old Turk, to jail. Gencel's sweet ol' ma died two years ago aged 68, so, instead of giving her a proper burial, he did what any enterprising son would do: he buried her in the basement, stole her identity and dressed up in her clothes so he could keep cashing her pension cheques.

Gencel donned his mom's dress, stockings and headscarf, went to the bank and faked her voice enough times to collect the equivalent of $7,800 before he was caught. Apparently he used his own, not his "mom," voice, and a sharp-eared bank teller became suspicious. The police were contacted and Gencel was arrested later at his home. He faces possible charges of fraud, suspicious death and conducting a burial without notifying authorities.

Mom's body, meanwhile, was exhumed and examined for cause of death.

» Patrick Lejtenyi