Instead of cremating the bodies, she harvested heads, spines, arms and legs and then sold them, according to court records. McCafferty, 38, received significantly less time compared to his co-conspirators . A grand jury indictment charges that they were paid $1,000 per All rights reserved. Hess, 45, admitted on Tuesday that through her funeral home, located in the town of Montrose in the western part of the state, she defrauded at least a dozen families seeking cremation services for deceased relatives. According to NBC, Hess is scheduled to be sentenced in January. appreciated. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Like Gore, Rathburn would also be convicted but in federal court of fraud for selling and transporting infected body parts. McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia; were arrested Thursday on Indicted on similar counts were Brooklyn residents Mastromarino, To maximize profits, Hess targeted poor and vulnerable families, struggling as they made arrangements in their relatives final days, according to court documents. PHILADELPHIA (AP) - April 4, 2008 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. Friday, April 4, 2008. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Deli worker killed in apparent robbery on Upper East Side, Lori Lightfoot lost for failing Chicago not because voters are racist/sexist, Investigators want to exhume body of Alex Murdaughs dead housekeeper, Accused pedophile mayor called Pete Buttigieg his buddy and mentor, paid to have their late loved ones cremated. She also offered free cremations in exchange for a body donation. of Philadelphia, and Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales, along with James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, provided the bodies to Michael Mastromarino and . donors had died of heart attacks or blunt-force trauma but were A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly dissecting corpses and selling body parts without consent from mourning relatives. A Colorado funeral home operator was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for cutting up the bodies of 560 people and selling the parts without permission. plundering 1,077 bodies, including those from Philadelphia. September 2005, prosecutors said. The funeral The dispute will likely be left for Common Pleas Judge Glenn Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal mail fraud. 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. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. G. Frank Page, Jr. Funeral Home. "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, it was so dirty," Abraham said. Nine-year-old Lyric Jones and her mother, Teran Christian, stand outside the courthouse in Grand Junction, Colorado, on Tuesday. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. The latest Gabs from KenMatthews (@KenMatthews). Hess has been free on bond since her arrest. During the hearing, the judge asked Hess to describe in her own words the crimes she committed. Did you encounter any technical issues? "Despite receiving $1,959 per child from Stevie Wonder, Louis Garzone filed a welfare claim for $750 for each," the grand jury said. Prosecution seeks 12-15 year prison sentence, Colorado funeral home harvested and sold body parts. The two men were expected to surrender to Philadelphia authorities this week. "We, by law, had to grant [James Garzone] his license," said Basil Merenda, commissioner of the state Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. Those potentially dangerous body parts were sold and transplanted into thousands of patients. said. Flowers. Hess, 45, and her mother, Shirley Koch, operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. When asked to describe the crime in a United States District Court in Grand Junction, Tuesday, Hess said, "I exceeded the scope of the consent and I'm trying to make an effort to make it right," reported The Daily Sentinel. A Colorado-based funeral home director has been sentenced to 20 years in prison stemming from a litany of charges including fraud and illegally selling the body parts or bodies of approximately 500 individuals whose families did not consent to that practice.. Megan Hess, 46, who supervised the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, recently pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aiding . parts, Peruto said. plea with New York prosecutors, he agreed to forfeit $4.68 million. Michael Mastromarino, who operated the now-defunct Biomedical After the Reuters 2018 investigation, Colorado's legislature strengthened the state's oversight. The United States Attorney's Office for the District . innocent. Funeral directors Louis Garzone, 65, of Philadelphia; his younger brother, Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales; and James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia; were arrested Thursday on thousands of . Mastromarino, 44, remains in New York custody after his guilty A reporter seeking comment at their businesses was told to leave. The parts could have been transplanted into as many as 13,000 patients, the Food and Drug Administration estimated. The black-market sales occurred from at least February 2004 through September 2005, prosecutors 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. However, it isn't clear whether what they were allegedly doing is illegal in any way . In other instances, the topic of donation was raised by Hess or Koch, and specifically rejected by the families. Of the 244 bodies here, he changed the names on all but 48. He has agreed to help locate records for the families and "It seems like this in this case . A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has been sentenced to 20 years in prison By The Associated Press January 4, 2023, 12:16 AM "I love Louis.". This is the cost to purchase a burial vault from the funeral home. Sell your poop for up to $1,500 per month. The three Philadelphia suspects were taken into custody and it About 10,000 people received tissue supplied by BTS. Charges also were filed against Louis and Gerald Garzone's funeral homes and the crematorium, but not the McCafferty funeral home. Abraham said. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. While the mostly poor families thought their loved ones were being cremated quickly, the bodies were often left unrefrigerated for days, sometimes in alleys beside the funeral home, until a cutter arrived, authorities said. Donate your eggs to earn up to $10,000! funeral directors there have pleaded guilty, including one whose Mansion, Jen Shah's Assistant Stuart Smith Changes Plea to Guilty in Telemarketing Scheme Case, American Dentist Accused of Plotting Wife's Murder During Africa Hunting Trip. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. All Rights Reserved. Thanks for contacting us. South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to life without parole in the fatal shootings of his wife, son. processors," defense lawyer Mario Gallucci said Thursday. unbelievably craven nature of what they did," Philadelphia District beauty. Human Corpse Being Transported to Funeral Home Ejected from Van in Pileup on N.J. Freeway. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. $950?". A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly . ", Some of the parts taken in Philadelphia came from people who had died of cancer, sepsis, HIV and hepatitis, the grand jury said. was not immediately clear if they had attorneys. with the body parts being transplanted in unsuspecting medical 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. 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. REUTERS/Mike Wood/File Photo. He did not appear at a pretrial hearing in 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. or redistributed. Explore life stories, offer tributes & condolences, send flowers or create a lasting online memorial for loved ones. company that shipped bones, skin and tendons to tissue processors. "He's obviously not in great spirits, but he's doing OK given the circumstances.". July 5, 2022. They each pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting. "No penalty is too harsh for these guys, for the just unbelievably craven nature of what they did," Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference. PHILADELPHIA - Three funeral directors sold hundreds of bodies to a former oral surgeon who allegedly collected the bones, tissue and skin from the corpses to be used in . Brothers Louis and Gerald Garzone, along with James McCafferty, Get ready!!!! All he was supposed to Five indicted for selling body parts . Hess initially called the whole affair a "legal travesty." More than 200 Pennsylvanians got tissue that came directly from the Garzone funeral homes, according to the grand jury report. It was not immediately known if the three funeral directors had attorneys. corruption, body stealing and reckless endangerment. In a cruel twist, the mother-and-daughter team also repeatedly lied to grieving families about the status of their loved one's bodies or flat out ignored their wishes, said the DOJ. 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. I exceeded the scope of the consent and Im trying to make an effort to make it right, Ms. Hess said in United States District Court in Grand Junction, Colo., on Tuesday, according to The Daily Sentinel. The lucrative parts were team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. By John Shiffman. This is the only funeral home my family has ever used. Two family members and one friend of deceased people whose body parts were sold without permission by Hess spoke at the hearing. Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly 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. then sold to the tissue banks for dental implants, knee and hip to a former oral surgeon who allegedly collected the bones, tissue FOR TRANSFERRING BODY ONLY. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. The Daily Sentinel reportsthat Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. Mobi Medical Supply also offers quality mortuary stretchers and cots for the funeral home and removal services industry. "Hess and Koch also delivered remains to families with the representation that the remains were that of the deceased when, frequently, that was not the case," it added. 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They were arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. Her defense attorney has requested a lighter sentence of two years. woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly plundering 1,077 bodies, including those from Philadelphia. A former Colorado funeral home operator has pleaded guilty to stealing and then selling hundreds of human bodies or body parts to people who were buying the remains for scientific, medical or . "He [1/2]Megan Hess, owner of Donor Services, is pictured during an interview in Montrose, Colorado, U.S., May 23, 2016 in this still image from video. They want Michael Mastromarino to serve an additional 20 to 40 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 . at least 244 corpses. 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. Philadelphia on Friday, but defense lawyer Charles A. Peruto Jr. it was so dirty," Abraham said. The Sunset Mesa Funeral Home would charge $1,000 or more for cremation services, but often failed to carry out the work, authorities said. July 8, 2022 - The owner of a Colorado funeral home has pleaded guilty to federal charges of mail fraud after the FBI uncovered an operation to sell body parts of deceased . the families' knowledge or permission. But prosecutors here are balking at any 2-for-1 deal. The Associated Press. $ 124.95 . 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. Prosecutors is on trial in New York. By John Shiffman. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Add to Wishlist . Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. Joseph, was plundered before his April 2004 cremation. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. (Reuters) - A second Colorado woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding relatives of the dead as part of a scheme in which a funeral . Mastromarino's lead cutter, and faces a sentence of about 6 1/2 to Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday in Philadelphia and will fight the charges, his lawyer said. charged. That term was cut short Sunday morning when Mastromarino, 49, died at a New York hospital. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. As with other commodities, prices for bodies and body parts fluctuate with market conditions. Keep reading with a digital access subscription. thousands of counts, ranging from running a corrupt organization to charged Thursday after a 16-month investigation. 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. Hess forged dozens of body donor consent forms, federal investigators found. Mechafanboy said: There's a case in little India a few years back. The other location is at L and Lycoming Streets in Juniata Park. Discovery Company. The U.S. Attorney's Office for . Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. 1,700 counts charged, such as running a criminal enterprise and All rights reserved. The pair charged customers $1,000 or more for cremations that never occurred. Families of the dead had no idea the bodies were being ransacked. Dion Rassias, an attorney for the James A. McCafferty Funeral Home, at Frankford and Unruh Avenues in Mayfair, said James McCafferty Jr. was not a director at his mother's funeral home. One Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday and will fight the charges, his lawyer said. replacements and other procedures around the country. One client received a concrete mix instead of the remains of their loved one. Both Hess and Koch originally had pleaded not guilty to the charges. The black-market sales occurred from at least February 2004 through "They have four or five deaths a day. The district attorney also charged McCafferty and Louis and Gerald Garzone with defrauding a state welfare program that offers help to the poor for burial expenses. 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. "For one thing, cremations made it easier to deceive the next of kin.". 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. A burial vault is required for most cemeteries, but you may choose to purchase one online or elsewhere, if you'd wish. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. Legal Statement. A change of plea hearing for Koch, who initially pleaded not guilty, is scheduled for July 12 added the outlet. Written by Maya Davis. As part of a plea agreement, eight other criminal charges against Ms. Hess were dropped. Donate bone marrow for up to $3,000. In some cases, the pair would ship bodies and body parts that tested positive for or belonged to people who had died from infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B and C and HIV after certifying to buyers that the remains were disease-free, the news release said. "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. Prosecutors allege that the men took tissue samples from . Rent space on your skin for thousands of dollars. We hope these prison sentences will bring the victims family members some amount of peace as they move forward in the grieving process.. Updated In Kensington, neighbors defended Louis Garzone. In such a growing industry, small, unaccredited outfits outnumber the accredited ones, experts said. part is pursuing a civil suit, Abraham said. MONTROSE, Colo. When funeral directors Megan Hess and Shirley Koch were sentenced after admitting to illegally selling body parts from the Sunset Mesa . In Philadelphia, most of the bodies were scheduled for cremation Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much A further eight criminal charges against her were dropped as a part of a plea deal, the newspaper added Tuesday. plea there last month. alleged underlings, three funeral home operators from North This is a common price to purchase funeral flowers. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Three Philadelphia funeral-home directors were charged yesterday with turning their businesses into gruesome human chop shops that pilfered bones and tissue from the dead to fuel a booming, $1 billion transplant industry. While the mostly poor families thought their loved ones were being cremated, the bodies were often left unrefrigerated for days, sometimes in alleys beside the funeral home, until a cutter arrived, authorities said. fight the charges, his lawyer said. Christian's grandfather was one of the victims at Sunset Mesa Funeral Home. cannot be certain of her claim because of the lack of records or a was HIV-positive and suffered from hepatitis C and cancer. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. They want Michael Mastromarino to serve an additional 20 to 40 years in Philadelphia . 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. The stolen bones, skin and tissue which are nearly impossible to trace from donor to recipient because of forged documents were transplanted in unsuspecting medical patients worldwide, the grand jury in Philadelphia found. The two women also delivered cremated remains to families that did not belong to the families loved ones, the news release said. (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. Funeral Home Operator Pleads Guilty in Illegal Body Part Scheme, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/05/us/colorado-funeral-home-owner-body-parts-guilty.html. Mastromarino has pleaded not guilty to the New York charges. Find the indictment, photos, past coverage and more at http://go.philly.com/bodyparts EndText, By Troy Graham and Dwight Ott, Inquirer Staff Writers. Generally, a broker can sell a donated human body for about $3,000 to $5,000, though prices sometime . Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., ran the scheme with help from a If you wish to speak to Mark McCafferty right away please call 215-531-5014 or 215-432-8339 (cell) or 267-978-8869 (cell). years in Philadelphia, where they say his team of cutters plundered Associated Press. The grand jury report said, though, that James Garzone is not the one in charge. 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. do was come and harvest the tissue and send the samples down to the A former employee accused her of earning$40,000 by extracting and selling the gold teeth of some of the deceased as part of the macabre scheme, according to court documents. Updated: 7:04 PM MST January 5, 2023. After the body parts were removed, the deceased were taken across the street to Liberty for cremation. 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She could face up to 20 years in prison.