Indicted on similar counts were Brooklyn residents Mastromarino, Folger, who brought a small U.S. flag to the court hearing. patients worldwide. A second Garzone Funeral Home , at 4151 L St., also is charged. Selling body parts: Colorado's secret black market industry - WFTS July 5, 2022 9:58pm. charged. Market data provided by Factset. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Two Colorado funeral home operators who sold body parts or bodies in a scheme a prosecutor called "horrific" were sentenced to prison Tuesday, officials said.. Megan Hess, 46, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and her mother, Shirley Koch, 69, was sentenced to 15 years, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado said in a statement. learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham McCafferty Funeral & Cremation - Overview, News & Competitors The women ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado. The grand jury report said, though, that James Garzone is not the one in charge. Without knowledge or consent, the women disrespected the wishes of the grieving victims and degraded the bodies of their family members to sell them for profit, Carollo said. Montrose funeral homes selling body parts prompt charges | 9news.com McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia; were arrested Thursday on "He was victimized by the funeral directors. The Garzone brothers voluntarily surrendered their funeral director licenses last year, and the state revoked McCafferty's in an unrelated case about a month ago, officials said. Megan Hess admitted to selling body parts without permission of the families of the deceased. Mastromarino, 44, remains in New York custody after his guilty innocent. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Second Plea in U.S. Funeral Home Scheme to Sell Body Parts Colorado funeral home owner sentenced in body sales case "He was victimized by the funeral directors. being cremated quickly, the bodies were often left unrefrigerated Much of the tissue was taken from people who were unsuitable donors because their age or the condition of their bodies, or because they had infections such as hepatitis or HIV, according to a 103-page grand jury report. Hess, however, charged families to donate their bodies - $195, plus $300 more if relatives want cremated . Abraham said. funeral directors there have pleaded guilty, including one whose She could face up to 20 years in prison. Authorities said Mastromarino's company took bones and tissue from 1,077 bodies at funeral homes in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, making $3.8 million in illegal profits. Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference. The black-market sales occurred from at least February 2004 through September 2005, prosecutors said. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity . A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal charge of defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting their family members' corpses and selling the body parts . Colorado Funeral Home Operator Pleads Guilty To Selling Human Corpses An attorney for Koch, Thomas E. Goodreid, declined to comment. The defendants typically made up names for the donors and also forged family consent forms, the indictment said. Christian's grandfather was one of the victims at Sunset Mesa Funeral Home. Hess had created a nonprofit organization in 2009 called Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation as a body-broker service doing business as Donor Services, authorities said. Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. The largest demand is for bone used in spinal surgery, but a growing sports-medicine business also has driven up demand for tendons, ligaments and cartilage. Sunset Mesa funeral home owners sentenced to federal prison "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, it was so dirty," Abraham said. Mortuary Stretchers | Cots | Gurneys by Mobi Medical The group also lowered the donors' ages and changed their dates of death to make it appear the body parts were more fresh, authorities said. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. In Kensington, neighbors defended Louis Garzone. The grand jury said five Philadelphia and 41 Pennsylvania hospitals implanted parts that originated with Mastromarino's operation. Although taking care of these funerals is a tremendous honor, the owner of McCafferty Funeral Home's real passion is to help all people from different backgrounds get . "There was no basis for us to take any action against James.". The Associated Press. Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly This is the only funeral home my family has ever used. However, it isn't clear whether what they were allegedly doing is illegal in any way . These two women preyed on vulnerable victims who turned to them in a time of grief and sadness. They told the judge that while they were still emotionally reeling from the episode and wanted to learn more details about what occurred, they welcomed the news that Hess had decided to plead guilty. But the sale of cadavers and body parts for use in research or education, which is what Hess did, is not regulated by federal law. Megan Hess and her mother Shirley Koch defrauded over 200 families by handing over random ashes while selling body parts of deceased individuals entrusted to their funeral home. Colorado funeral home owner accused of selling body parts pleads guilty family consent forms, the indictment said. Frequently, they delivered cremated remains to families with the suggestion they were the remains of their relative when, in fact, they were not, according to the indictment. or redistributed. "My husband was a World War II veteran of three years," said Megan Hess, who operated a funeral home called Sunset Mesa and a human body parts business called Donor Services from the same building, entered the plea to the charge of fraud at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gordon Gallagher in Grand Junction, Colorado. In 2022 Ken Matthews was ranked #70 of the 100 most important Talk Radio Show Hosts in America by the radio industry's TALKERS magazine. Much of the work took place at the Louis Garzone Funeral Home, at Somerset and Jasper Streets in Kensington, where bodies were left on gurneys in a dingy alley behind the building, the grand jury said. Two family members and one friend of deceased people whose body parts were sold without permission by Hess spoke at the hearing. Megan Hess, 46, operated the Sunset Mesa funeral home in Montrose, Colorado, alongside a body-parts entity called Donor Services, where she undertook the grisly scheme, starting in 2010. 9 Body Parts You Can Legally Sell For Cash - Low Income Relief On his way to dispose the luggage, a amdk Samaritan saw the man struggling with the luggage and offered to help. guilty. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. together ran Garzone Funeral Home. As part of his Buy this on Ever Loved. Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is They took advantage of numerous victims who were at their lowest point given the recent loss of a loved one. Published Dec 19, 2008. corruption, body stealing and reckless endangerment. The empty Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors & Donor Services in Montrose, Colo., on Oct. 24, 2018. do was come and harvest the tissue and send the samples down to the Updated Funeral home operators sentenced after illegally selling body parts "Both Louis and Gerald continue to run their businesses, pretty much as they did before," the report said. A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. A lawyer for Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is innocent. Michael Mastromarino, a businessman and former dentist, ran the scheme with help from a team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. Mastromarino Colorado Funeral Home Director Sentenced to 20 Years in Jail for Illegally Selling Body Parts. at least 244 corpses. Hess and her mother, Shirley Koch, 66, were first arrested for "illegally selling body parts or entire bodies without the consent of the family of the deceased," by the U.S. Department of Justice in March 2020. A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court. Parts are supposed to be harvested within 15 hours of death, but some of those in Philadelphia sat unrefrigerated for up to 100 hours. A former Colorado funeral home operator pleaded guilty this week to stealing and selling human remains and body parts that were intended for cremation, federal prosecutors said. Mastromarino will also testify, if necessary, against his The three men also jointly own Liberty Cremation. Did you encounter any technical issues? 7047 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19119. Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly plundering 1,077 bodies, including those from Philadelphia. Mccafferty Funeral Home in Ambler, PA with Reviews Discovery Company. By John Shiffman. Funeral directors Louis Garzone, 65, of Philadelphia; his Still, the authorities said, families typically paid $1,000 or more for a cremation that often never occurred. Hess initially called the whole affair a "legal travesty." To maximize profits, Hess targeted poor and vulnerable families, struggling as they made arrangements in their relatives final days, according to court documents. Colorado funeral home operators sentenced for selling body parts California residents do not sell my data request. All rights reserved. IE 11 is not supported. Second plea in U.S. funeral home scheme to sell body parts. beauty. Michael Mastromarino, N.J. mastermind of body-parts theft ring, dies of She also offered free cremations in exchange for a body donation. Louis Garzone's attorney, Howard Kaufman, said he had not seen the grand jury report and so could not comment on the charges. Charges also were filed against Louis and Gerald Garzone's funeral homes and the crematorium, but not the McCafferty funeral home. fight the charges, his lawyer said. FBI agents found that Hess forged dozens of body-donor consent forms. Associated Press. "They couldn't and wouldn't permit the dead to go to their graves with a shred of dignity," said District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham. last year but continued to run their two homes in Philadelphia, A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly dissecting corpses and selling body parts without consent from mourning relatives. 8-year-old cheerleader dies after Fourth of July parade ac Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, Murdaugh son collapsed outside court after sitting stone-faced through dad's 6-week murder trial: source, Hated Tom Sandoval addresses Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims, Kelly Osbourne posts first photo of baby son as he hangs out with uncle Jack, Greys Anatomy alum Isaiah Washington retiring from acting: The haters have won, Max Scherzer's first look at the new pitch clock, Chris Rock Jokes About Watching Emancipation to See Will Smith Getting Whipped In Advance of Netflix Special: Report, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. alleged underlings, three funeral home operators from North One Philadelphia woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body part is pursuing a civil suit. In such circumstances, despite lacking any authorization, Koch and Hess recovered body parts from, or otherwise prepared entire bodies of hundreds of decedents for body broker services.. Others were "riddled with infections.". Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. He's not a flight risk," Kaufman said shortly after visiting his client last night. On other occasions, their request was rejected, and sometimes, they never brought up the topic at all. Hess had been scheduled to go on trial in three weeks along with her mother, Shirley Koch, who also previously pleaded not guilty. The grand jury found that the three men collected more than $183,000 from those families and $84,000 more from welfare. The pair charged customers $1,000 or more for cremations that never occurred. September 2005, prosecutors said. A change of plea hearing for Koch, who initially pleaded not guilty, is scheduled for July 12 added the outlet. of death on a death certificate signed by Gerard Garzone confirms "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, it was so dirty," Abraham said. Megan Hess, Colorado funeral home owner accused of selling body parts The U.S. Attorney's Office for . Two morticians operating . younger brother, Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales; and James By John Shiffman. 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July 5 (Reuters) - A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal charge of defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting their family members' corpses and selling the body parts without permission, a practice exposed in a 2018 Reuters investigative report. unbelievably craven nature of what they did," Philadelphia District is on trial in New York. Inside the Horrifying Market for Dead Human Bodies - Business Insider One national law firm has clients who were patients at Temple, Hahnemann, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein Hospitals in Philadelphia, Holy Redeemer Hospital in Montgomery County, and Shore Memorial Hospital and AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in New Jersey. According to NBC, Hess is scheduled to be sentenced in January. ", Some of the parts taken in Philadelphia came from people who had died of cancer, sepsis, HIV and hepatitis, the grand jury said. An attorney for Gerald Garzone did not return a phone call seeking comment. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. processors," defense lawyer Mario Gallucci said Thursday. The group also lowered the donors' ages and changed their dates For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Seven funeral directors in New York have pleaded guilty, including one whose funeral home allegedly removed parts from the body of the late "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Seven Joe Amon / Denver Post via Getty Images file. Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. Five indicted for selling body parts - The Mercury Quick view $ 114.95 . During the hearing, the judge asked Hess to describe in her own words the crimes she committed. MONTROSE, Colo. When funeral directors Megan Hess and Shirley Koch were sentenced after admitting to illegally selling body parts from the Sunset Mesa . 1748 W Erie Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140. $950?". About 10,000 people received tissue supplied by BTS. Three funeral directors sold 244 corpses for about $1,000 each to a New York businessman who trafficked in the resale of often-diseased body parts, a grand jury charged Thursday. corpse to let Mastromarino's "cutters" hack up bodies, without authorities said. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Families of the dead had no idea the bodies were being ransacked. "In many instances, Koch and Hess neither discussed nor obtained authorization for donation of decedents' bodies or body parts for body broker services," the news release said. The most expensive prices were for an upper torso that included a head and arms ($4,000) and the cost of an entire body was $5,000, according to the price list. for days, sometimes in alleys beside the funeral home, until a So far, authorities have learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham said. Brothers Louis and Gerald Garzone, along with James McCafferty, 1,700 counts charged, such as running a criminal enterprise and Louis Garzone even ran this scheme, the grand jury said, in the case of five children killed in a 2005 fire in Tacony, a tragedy that drew an offer from the musician Stevie Wonder to pay for the funerals. . because there are bodies in Pennsylvania," Peruto said. Funeral directors Louis Garzone, 65, of Philadelphia, Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales, and James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, were arrested Thursday on thousands of counts, ranging from running a corrupt organization to forgery and theft of body parts. In fact, the mother-daughter team had been illegally selling hundreds of corpses intended for cremation out of the family funeral home in Montrose, Colorado for almost a decade. The black-market sales occurred from at least February 2004 through The funeral directors forged death certificates that said the donors had died of heart attacks or blunt-force trauma but were otherwise healthy, prosecutors said. In fact, the grand jury said, the lack of oversight helped Mastromarino go undetected for years, and it recommended a raft of changes that state and federal overseers should make. Donate bone marrow for up to $3,000. Mom Who Vanished While Celebrating St. Patrick's Day in 2018, Missouri Man Killed 4-Year-Old Girl by Beating, Dunking Her in Icy Pond as Part of 'Religious-Type Episode', Sherri Papini, Who Once Paid Off Credit Cards with Donations from Hoax, Now Owes $309,688 in Restitution, Socialite Mom Pleads Guilty to Secretly Filming Minors for 'Sexual Pleasure' in Her Conn. According to authorities, they made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling off bodies . Megan Hess, Colorado funeral home owner accused of selling body parts Indicted on similar counts were Brooklyn residents Mastromarino, who lost his oral surgery license amid unrelated drug charges, and Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew. to a former oral surgeon who allegedly collected the bones, tissue A judge sentenced a Colorado funeral-home owner who carved up corpses and sold parts of them without families' permission to 20 years in prison on Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. (Reuters) -A former Colorado funeral home owner was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Tuesday for defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting 560 corpses and selling body parts without permission. He and Assistant District Attorney Bruce Sagel expect Explore life stories, offer tributes & condolences, send flowers or create a lasting online memorial for loved ones. of Philadelphia, and Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales, along with James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, provided the bodies to Michael Mastromarino and . Megan Hess, 45, admitted to a single count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting, the Department of Justice announced in a press release on Tuesday. Louis Garzone, 65, of Philadelphia, Gerald Garzone, 47, of North it was so dirty," Abraham said. Find the indictment, photos, past coverage and more at http://go.philly.com/bodyparts EndText, By Troy Graham and Dwight Ott, Inquirer Staff Writers. James E Fyfe Funeral Director. The Garzone brothers surrendered their state funeral licenses last year but continued to run their two homes, Abraham said. The hoax revelation was first carried by the Ma "No penalty is too harsh for these guys, for the just Lawyers for Ms. Hess did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Tuesday. The defendants typically made up names for the donors and forged Mechafanboy said: There's a case in little India a few years back. Megan Hess, operator of Donor Services, in Montrose, Colo., pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Tuesday. Funeral Director Given 20 Years for Dissected-Body-Parts Fraud Scheme Michael Mastromarino, who operated the now-defunct Biomedical "I've yet to be shown a single shred of evidence that he knew what was going on," lawyer George Vomvolakis said. Generally, a broker can sell a donated human body for about $3,000 to $5,000, though prices sometime . what was going on," lawyer George Vomvolakis said. The funeral directors forged death certificates that said the Many families received ashes from bins mixed with the remains of different cadavers, authorities said, and one client received concrete mix instead of a relative's ashes. Mastromarino's lead cutter, and faces a sentence of about 6 1/2 to One client received a concrete mix instead of the remains of their loved one. The grand jury also charged Mastromarino and Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew, with similar counts. James A. McCafferty Funeral Home - Ever Loved Many families received ashes mixed with the remains of different cadavers, prosecutors said. Chopped into pieces, thrown into luggage; one of the accomplices chose to dump the luggage in little India. The operator of a Colorado funeral home who was accused of stealing body parts and selling them to medical and scientific buyers, making hundreds of thousands of dollars in what the authorities called an illegal body part scheme, pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Tuesday, the Justice Department said. Former workers describe troubling practices at this mortuary. By The Associated Press. How about a deal on full embalmed spines $950?. This story has been shared 102,319 times. donors had died of heart attacks or blunt-force trauma but were The founder of that company, Michael Mastromarino, a dentist stripped of his license for drug offenses, and his partner, Lee Cruceta, also were charged yesterday. Prosecutors then sold to the tissue banks for dental implants, knee and hip with the body parts being transplanted in unsuspecting medical A Warner Bros. After the Reuters 2018 investigation, Colorado's legislature strengthened the state's oversight. Investigators found 112 cases in which the three men charged indigent clients for services - then billed welfare as well. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for Mccafferty Funeral Home locations in Ambler, PA. . Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. Colorado Funeral Boss Pleads Guilty to Selling Hundreds of Body Parts The funeral-home directors and their partners, two men who bought the tissue for resale, then falsified paperwork to make the "donors" appear healthy, the report said. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Colorado funeral home operators sentenced | 9news.com Another cutter, Chris Aldorasi, Like Gore, Rathburn would also be convicted but in federal court of fraud for selling and transporting infected body parts. team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. Philadelphia on Friday, but defense lawyer Charles A. Peruto Jr. All he was supposed to do was come and harvest the tissue and send the samples down to the processors," defense lawyer Mario Gallucci said Thursday. body, but the Philadelphia woman believes the missing age and cause In one such case, the donor was HIV-positive and suffered from hepatitis C and cancer. Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., ran the scheme with help from a IE 11 is not supported. Mastromarino to plead guilty to just a few of the approximately The two women also delivered cremated remains to families that did not belong to the families loved ones, the news release said. To increase sales, Hess targeted poor and vulnerable families as they grappled with a relative's final days, according to government court filings. Mastromarino has pleaded not guilty to the New York charges. The funeral directors forged death certificates that said the donors had died of heart attacks or blunt-force trauma but were otherwise healthy, prosecutors said. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. and hepatitis when they had actually tested positive, according to the authorities. The defendants typically made up names for the donors and forged family consent forms, the indictment said. Some even had rigor mortis, the grand jury said. The latest Gabs from KenMatthews (@KenMatthews). Morgan Cemetery Friday, April 4, 2008. After the body parts were removed, the deceased were taken across the street to Liberty for cremation. The Sunset Mesa Funeral Home would charge $1,000 or more for cremation services, but often failed to carry out the work, authorities said. CNN has reached out to an attorney for Hess for comment. All Rights Reserved. When prodded by the judge, Hess agreed with the prosecution that she defrauded her victims, though she declined to go into detail. All rights reserved. The body-part industry has been booming, growing from 200,000 transplants in 1989 to 1,200,000 in 2003. In court documents, a former employee accused Hess of earning $40,000 by extracting and selling the gold teeth of some of the deceased, an allegation first revealed in the 2018 Reuters report. District of Colorado | Sunset Mesa Funeral Home Operators Sentenced to Few state laws provide any regulation, and almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human body parts.
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