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<h1 id="ra-headline"> John Caltabiano, 49, from upstate New York faked blindness to collect workman’s comp</h1>
<h1 id="ra-headline">He was caught on camera driving, shopping and going to the gym by investigators<br />
Sentenced 5 years for disability and mail fraud, girlfriend Colleen McCarten, 3 years probation for assisting in the fraud<br />
Addtn&#8217;l 3 years post-imprisonment supervised release, $27,784 in restitution</h1>
<h1> &#8220;extremely disturbing&#8221; criminal history<br />
Many prior convictions, including 4 convictions for sexual assault or attempted abduction of teenage girls.</h1>
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<article id="ra-body">A New York man who pretended to be blind to collect disability benefits was captured on camera by investigators driving a car, going shopping and working out in the gym. On camera Caltabiano is seen wearing shades as he sits behind the wheel of a teal pickup truck and staring at the camera as he walks without help into a store in photos that aired Friday on Nightline.<br />
The incriminating photos were snapped just days before his girlfriend led him into a courthouse for a hearing in his fraud trial to fool people into thinking he was completely blind.</p>
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<h6 class="ra-caption"><img class=" size-full wp-image-23077 alignleft" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/5625b2e93c510-image.jpg" alt="5625b2e93c510-image" width="210" height="294" /><br />
John Caltabiano Jr., jaile 5 year for disability fraud. Falsely claimed he was blinded by workplace injury.</h6>
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<p>Caltabiano, a 49-year-old Catskill native, was convicted in October along with his girlfriend, Colleen J. McCarten, 43, for faking an on-the-job-injury that he claimed left him totally vision impaired in order to cash in on more social security and workman&#8217;s compensation between 2008 and 2010. Caltabiano did lose sight in one eye in a workplace incident, but according to the records, there was no indication that his other eye was affected</p>
<p>The fraudster could have raked in more than a half million dollars had investigators not caught him in his lie, according to the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office.</p>
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<figure class="ra-figure">
<h6 class="ra-caption"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-23082" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/blind15n-1-web.jpg" alt="blind15n-1-web" width="1200" height="670" />John Caltabiano Jr, assisted by girlfriend Colleen McCarten in faking blindess.</h6>
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<p>&#8220;If Caltabiano had not been stopped, he would have been able to steal more than one-half a million dollars based on his life expectancy,&#8221; U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian said following the pair&#8217;s sentencing.<br />
Caltabiano, who was previously convicted of sexual assault charges for attempting to abduct teenage girls, was slapped with a five-year sentence for disability and mail fraud in February. His girlfriend was given three years probation for helping with the conspiracy.</p>
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<h2 class="ra-caption"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-23079" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/cubalano2.jpg" alt="cubalano2" width="1280" height="720" />Caltabiano&#8217;s girlfriend helped him lie about being blind by leading him in to his court hearings as if he couldn&#8217;t see.</h2>
<p><span class="ra-credit">(ABC Nightline)</span></p>
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<p>He was on his way to steal nearly $1 million in tax dollars over the course of almost a decade of stealing money that was set aside for workers who had become disabled on the job. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said “It costs the county a lot of money — a lot of money”</p>
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<h6 class="ra-figure"><strong><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-23112" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ht_gettingintocar_av_160513_4x3_992.jpg" alt="ht_gettingintocar_av_160513_4x3_992" width="992" height="744" />This is Caltabiano moving around without assistance</strong></h6>
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<p>Caltabiano’s girlfriend helped him play the part of a helpless blind man by leading him by the<br />
arm when he appeared publicly for court hearings in his case.<br />
But, unbeknownst to the conning couple, investigators caught on to Caltabiano&#8217;s ruse by capturing on camera the con artist engaging in everyday activities without any help—like driving, working out at the gym, and shopping—proving his vision was intact.<br />
“And then if you start thinking about having to hire all these investigators to investigate it – paying their salary and benefits – people wonder why their taxes are so high. Well, here you go.” Apple said.</p>
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Man who faked blindness to collect disability benefits caught on camera living a full life with sight
