The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. 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 So far, authorities have Megan Hess, operator of Donor Services, in Montrose, Colo., pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Tuesday. of death to make it appear the body parts were more fresh, Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. He did not appear at a pretrial hearing in The company sold the parts to treat burns, replace broken bones The two men were expected to surrender to Philadelphia authorities this week. "This was not a coincidence," the grand jury said. woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body Updated: 7:04 PM MST January 5, 2023. Others were "riddled with infections.". Few state laws provide any regulation, and almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human body parts. 1748 W Erie Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140. said. The 244 bodies fetched about $1,000 each, the grand jury found, 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. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. "I've yet to be shown a single shred of evidence that he knew what was going on," lawyer George Vomvolakis said. More than 200 Pennsylvanians got tissue that came directly from the Garzone funeral homes, according to the grand jury report. by the Garzones. the families' knowledge or permission. 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. The three funeral-home directors - Louis Garzone, 65; his brother Gerald Garzone, 47; and James A. McCafferty Jr., 37 - were accused of plundering 244 cadavers between February 2004 and September 2005. According to authorities, they made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling off bodies . Mastromarino - and the sensational accusations against him - first drew national headlines last year when he and three employees were charged in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a 122-count indictment. plea with New York prosecutors, he agreed to forfeit $4.68 million. "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. Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday in Philadelphia and will fight the charges, his lawyer said. Market data provided by Factset. A lawyer for Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is innocent. beauty. Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. 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. 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. They want Michael Mastromarino to serve an additional 20 to 40 company that shipped bones, skin and tendons to tissue processors. Friday, April 4, 2008. team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. The Daily Sentinel reportsthat Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. That term was cut short Sunday morning when Mastromarino, 49, died at a New York hospital. "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, Mastromarino claimed that none of the deceased died in a hospital, in order to explain why there were no medical records, according to the grand jury report. ", The statement added that "These shipments would be through the mail or on commercial air flights in violation of Department of Transportation regulations regarding the transportation of hazardous materials.". State Automobile Insurance Co. sued Garzone Funeral Home Inc. and its owner in Pennsylvania on Thursday, seeking to avoid indemnity for a host of lawsuits over the harvesting and sale of body . Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly You have permission to edit this article. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. Lee Cruceta, 35, of Monroe, N.Y., has admitted to being Hess initially called the whole affair a "legal travesty." Parts are supposed to be harvested within 15 hours of death, but some of those in Philadelphia sat unrefrigerated for up to 100 hours. processors," defense lawyer Mario Gallucci said Thursday. Two family members and one friend of deceased people whose body parts were sold without permission by Hess spoke at the hearing. All three men were jailed yesterday. Auto Body Shops Auto Glass Repair Auto Parts Auto Repair Car Detailing Oil Change Roadside Assistance Tire Shops Towing Window Tinting. guilty and, along with Mastromarino, are set for trial on Sept. 2. Other charges against Hess will be dropped under a plea agreement, the Sentinel said. and skin from the corpses to be used in transplants, a grand jury 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 . 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. An attorney for Gerald Garzone did not return a phone call seeking comment. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday by a federal court . 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 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 . Updated Prosecutors Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly . Anyone can read what you share. The defendants conduct was horrific and morbid and driven by greed, US Attorney Cole Finegan said. A change of plea hearing for Koch, who initially pleaded not guilty, is scheduled for July 12 added the outlet. Mastromarino often filled in phony information on death A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. The grand jury report said, though, that James Garzone is not the one in charge. South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to life without parole in the fatal shootings of his wife, son. 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. Dozens of patients, including some from Philadelphia and New Jersey, said they contracted hepatitis C after getting a transplant. Wetzel and Son Funeral Home Inc. 6902 Rising Sun Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19111. Philadelphia, Peruto said. REUTERS. Hess then "sold those remains to victims purchasing the remains for scientific, medical, or educational purposes," the release added. But prosecutors here are balking at any 2-for-1 deal. then sold to the tissue banks for dental implants, knee and hip 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. In such a growing industry, small, unaccredited outfits outnumber the accredited ones, experts said. Morgan Cemetery Explore life stories, offer tributes & condolences, send flowers or create a lasting online memorial for loved ones. All Rights Reserved. Sell your hair to earn up to $4,000! The funeral directors were in charge of getting consent. fight the charges, his lawyer said. From 2017-2021 Matthews was a guest host for RUSH Limbaugh and had the honor of hosting the last show on Rush's EIB Network-including the final Open Line Friday. How about a deal on full embalmed spines $950?. In Kensington, neighbors defended Louis Garzone. One client received a concrete mix instead of the remains of their loved one. Instead of cremating the bodies, court records show, her body broker company harvested heads, spines, arms and legs and then sold them, mostly for surgical training and other educational purposes. Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal mail fraud. because there are bodies in Pennsylvania," Peruto said. It was not immediately known if the three funeral directors had attorneys. 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 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. 7047 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19119. Buy this on Ever Loved. Donate your sperm to earn up to $1,500/mo! The defendants typically made up names for the donors and also forged family consent forms, the indictment said. Hess is tentatively set to be sentenced in January. Megan Hess was . Burial vault. part is pursuing a civil suit, Abraham 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. Joseph, was plundered before his April 2004 cremation. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. In other instances, the topic of donation was raised by Hess or Koch, and specifically rejected by the families. "Despite receiving $1,959 per child from Stevie Wonder, Louis Garzone filed a welfare claim for $750 for each," the grand jury said. Then amdk realised the luggage is overflowing with blood. All Rights Reserved. The three Philadelphia suspects were taken into custody and it was not immediately clear if they had attorneys. He's not a flight risk," Kaufman said shortly after visiting his client last night. A change of plea hearing for Koch is scheduled for July 12. Mastromarino has pleaded not guilty to the New York charges. 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. certificates to make the parts appear usable, the grand jury 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. 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. One of the "cutters" who removed body parts told the grand jury that he once saw a body in the alley, covered with a blue "Astroturf-like material," a sparrow perched on the head. A Colorado woman who operated a funeral home pleaded guilty to fraud this week after being accused of stealing and selling bodies and body parts, officials said. 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. On his way to dispose the luggage, a amdk Samaritan saw the man struggling with the luggage and offered to help. Mastromarino's lead cutter, and faces a sentence of about 6 1/2 to 20 years for crimes in both states. Gallagher scheduled Hess, who had previously pleaded not guilty, to be sentenced in January, with the prosecution calling for 12 to 15 years in prison. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Find 1 listings related to Mccafferty Funeral Home in Ambler on YP.com. To increase sales, Hess targeted poor and vulnerable families as they grappled with a relative's final days, according to government court filings. The funeral directors were in charge of getting consent. The Garzone brothers surrendered their state funeral licenses Get ready!!!! But instead of offering guidance, these greedy women betrayed the trust of hundreds of victims and mutilated their loved ones, Leonard Carollo, the acting special agent in charge at the FBI in Denver, said in a news release. body, but the Philadelphia woman believes the missing age and cause 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. The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado said in a release Tuesday, that Meghan Hess, 45, of Montrose, Colorado had pleaded guilty to running a complex fraud "devised and executed to steal the bodies or body parts of hundreds of victims," from 2010 to 2018. "I love Louis.". This is the only funeral home my family has ever used. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Keep reading with a digital access subscription. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Investigators found 112 cases in which the three men charged indigent clients for services - then billed welfare as well. The three funeral-home directors - Louis Garzone, 65; his brother Gerald Garzone, 47; and James A. McCafferty Jr., 37 - were accused of plundering 244 cadavers between February 2004 and September 2005. $ 124.95 . 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. Famous Brooklyn Funeral Home Selling Body Parts 2022. Discovery Company. 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. directors were in charge of getting consent. "Meeting with hospice on the 4th opening the floodgates of donors," Hess wrote to a prospective body-part buyer in 2014. Legal Statement. charged. to a former oral surgeon who allegedly collected the bones, tissue Mastromarino, who ran a now-defunct company called Biomedical Tissue Services, is already facing charges in New York for allegedly plundering 1,077 bodies, including those from Philadelphia. 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 forged dozens of body donor consent forms, federal investigators found. Megan Hess who operated the Sunset Mesa funeral home in Montroseand a human body parts business called Donor Services from the same building admitted in federal court Tuesday to defrauding at least a dozen families who had paid to have their late loved ones cremated. "He Associated Press. Church Truck Drapes; Funeral Supplies . Those potentially dangerous body parts were sold and transplanted into thousands of patients. In 2009, Hess and her mother, Shirley Koch, launched a nonprofit donor services organization called Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation, a body-broker service operating out of the funeral home doing business that would sell body parts to third parties mostly for surgical training and other educational purposes. Those body parts were sold to at least five processing companies and one major distributor. PHILADELPHIA (AP) - April 4, 2008 But prosecutors here are balking at any 2-for-1 deal. After Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Chaffin made his sentencing recommendation, the lawyer for Hess, Dan Shaffer, urged a lighter sentence of about two years in prison. One for days, sometimes in alleys beside the funeral home, until a See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. According to NBC News, Hess and her mother now face 135 years in prison each. The empty Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors & Donor Services in Montrose, Colorado. A burial vault is required for most cemeteries, but you may choose to purchase one online or elsewhere, if you'd wish. Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew. Seven funeral directors there have pleaded guilty, including one whose funeral home allegedly removed parts from the body of the late "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. transplant recipients suing tissue banks over the often-diseased "He was victimized by the funeral directors. Im taking responsibility.. As part of a plea agreement, eight other criminal charges against Ms. Hess were dropped. of death on a death certificate signed by Gerard Garzone confirms A Colorado funeral home director accused of stealing and selling the body parts of hundreds of people has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. "They have four or five deaths a day. Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., ran the scheme with help from a plea there last month. Folger, who brought a small U.S. flag to the court hearing. According to a report from the DOJ at the time of the arrests, Hess and Koch's mail scheme included shipping "bodies and body parts that tested positive for, or belonging to people who had died from, infectious diseases, including Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, after certifying to buyers that the remains were disease-free. He has agreed to help locate records for the families and Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference. 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. 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. guilty. Donate your eggs to earn up to $10,000! The woman, Megan Hess, 45, the principal figure in the scheme, was assisted by her mother, Shirley Koch, who is in her late 60s, prosecutors said. A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly dissecting corpses and selling body parts without consent from mourning relatives. Families of the dead had no idea the bodies were being ransacked. The shipments went through the mail or on commercial air flights in violation of Department of Transportation regulations regarding the transportation of hazardous materials,the news release said. Mastromarino will also testify, if necessary, against his Prosecutors allege that the men took tissue samples from . 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Did you encounter any technical issues? 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. 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. The elaborate scheme also included forged paperwork and "misleading buyers about the results of medical tests" performed on the bodies, added the Times, citing court documents. PHILADELPHIA (AP) - April 4, 2008 Flowers. So far, authorities have learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham said. In one such case, the donor Abraham 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. Add to cart More. The parts - bones, skin, tendons and spines - were taken from the deceased without family permission, in unsanitary conditions that one witness likened to a "butcher shop.". 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). appreciated. Some even had rigor mortis, the grand jury said. Ms. Koch has pleaded not guilty, but she has a change of plea hearing scheduled for July 12. 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. She could face up to 20 years in prison. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Selling organs such as hearts, kidneys and tendons for transplant is illegal in the United States. 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 . IE 11 is not supported. with the body parts being transplanted in unsuspecting medical Expand. Agnes Folger believes the body of her 81-year-old husband, "My husband was a World War II veteran of three years," said "My job is to make sure he doesn't do additional time just Obituaries from the McCafferty-Sweeney Funeral Home, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The other location is at L and Lycoming Streets in Juniata Park. is on trial in New York. PHILADELPHIA Three funeral directors sold hundreds of bodies Ms. Hess altered lab reports so that they said that people had tested negative for diseases like H.I.V. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes was sentenced to 20 years in prison . 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. funeral directors there have pleaded guilty, including one whose This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Experts estimate that a single body can be worth $100,000 in parts, and the industry as a whole has topped $1 billion in revenue per year. The 244 bodies fetched about $1,000 each, the grand jury found, with the body parts being transplanted in unsuspecting medical patients worldwide. 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 . The Sunset Mesa Funeral Home would charge $1,000 or more for cremation services, but often failed to carry out the work, authorities said. The women ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado. We've received your submission. She has been out on bond since her arrest in 2020. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Megan Hess was sentenced to 20 years in prison and her mother, Shirley Koch, received 15 years for their involvement in the scheme to sell the human remains to body broker services, according to federal prosecutors.
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