We Come To Prop Him Up In Search Of A Resonant Human Interest Story, Not To Bury Him

The corpse used in a social security check cashing scheme was finally laid to rest — this despite Andrea Peyser’s best efforts to revive the body:

Monday was [Virgilio] Cintron’s wake. Monday he was wearing a suit. And for the few dozen people in the world to whom Mr. Cintron was not a punch line or a future bar trivia question, it was a chance to say goodbye.

A handwritten sign taped to the door of the R. G. Ortiz Funeral Home on West 72nd Street read, “This is a private viewing for family and close friends only!”

The word “only” was underlined and was strictly enforced. Andrea Peyser of The New York Post got a quick glimpse of Mr. Cintron before she was ushered out. “He’s looking dead,” she reported. A reporter from The Associated Press was shooed away from the door like a dog.

On the sidewalk, a small, frostbitten press pack hovered, begging for scraps with all the respect it could muster. Most of the mourners demurred. A dapper man with a white mustache shook his head. A woman with long hair waved her hand.

A younger woman with short hair said, “Unfortunately, we can’t talk to the press because they made a mockery of this.”