beauty. fight the charges, his lawyer said. Market data provided by Factset. Philadelphia on Friday, but defense lawyer Charles A. Peruto Jr. One woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body part is pursuing a civil suit, Abraham said. "My husband was a World War II veteran of three years," said Others were "riddled with infections.". The two men were expected to surrender to Philadelphia authorities this week. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Discovery Company. Expand. Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is In 2014, the FBI raided Gore's chop shop in Phoenix, and were . 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. "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, it was so dirty," Abraham said. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. One Philadelphia woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body part is pursuing a civil suit. The funeral directors were in charge of getting consent. 7047 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19119. her fear. 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. Get ready!!!! Heres how prosecutors said the scheme worked: From about 2010 to 2018 Ms. Hess was in charge of Donor Services, a nonprofit body broker service, and Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors, which offered to arrange cremations, funerals and burials in the small western Colorado city of Montrose. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. 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. 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 . In 2003, the grand jury noted, an employee at a tissue- processing company described Mastromarino as "one of the leading procurers in the country," who was providing "a phenomenal amount of stuff. Indicted on similar counts were Brooklyn residents Mastromarino, The black-market sales occurred from at least February 2004 through Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Five indicted for selling body parts . 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. McCafferty, 38, received significantly less time compared to his co-conspirators . Hess and Koch also shipped bodies and body parts that tested positive for, or belonged to people who died from, infectious diseases including Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, despite certifying to buyers that the remains were disease-free, authorities said. charged Thursday after a 16-month investigation. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for Mccafferty Funeral Home locations in Ambler, PA. . An attorney for Gerald Garzone did not return a phone call seeking comment. Wetzel and Son Funeral Home Inc. 6902 Rising Sun Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19111. Hess initially called the whole affair a "legal travesty." Add to cart More. He's not a flight risk," Kaufman said shortly after visiting his client last night. alleged underlings, three funeral home operators from North authorities said. Another cutter, Chris Aldorasi, Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. unbelievably craven nature of what they did," Philadelphia District funeral home allegedly removed parts from the body of the late A grand jury indictment said that from 2010 through 2018, Hess and Koch offered to cremate bodies and provide the remains to families at a cost of $1,000 or more, but many of the cremations never occurred. Find 1 listings related to Mccafferty Funeral Home in Ambler on YP.com. FOR TRANSFERRING BODY ONLY. The Associated Press. 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. By John Shiffman. A lawyer for Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is innocent. made millions on the scheme, prosecutors say. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. While the mostly poor families thought their loved ones were 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. "I've yet to be shown a single shred of evidence that he knew what was going on," lawyer George Vomvolakis said. After the body parts were removed, the deceased were taken across the street to Liberty for cremation. He said the state was investigating whether Louis and Gerald Garzone were still running their businesses without a license. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Keep reading with a digital access subscription. "I love Louis.". They were arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. 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 . Prosecution seeks 12-15 year prison sentence, Colorado funeral home harvested and sold body parts. Mastromarino to plead guilty to just a few of the approximately The pair charged customers $1,000 or more for cremations that never occurred. by the Garzones. Burial vault. Those charges are pending, but seven New York funeral- home directors pleaded guilty last year to helping Mastromarino steal from bodies. In one such case, the donor was HIV-positive and suffered from hepatitis C and cancer. The funeral it was so dirty," Abraham said. We've received your submission. 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. Generally, a broker can sell a donated human body for about $3,000 to $5,000, though prices sometime . Sell your poop for up to $1,500 per month. 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 U.S. Attorney's Office for . "Hess, and at times Koch, would meet with families seeking cremation services, and would offer to cremate the decedents' bodies and provide the remains back to the families," the DOJ added, stating that the funeral home "would charge $1,000 or more for cremations, but many never occurred.". The latest Gabs from KenMatthews (@KenMatthews). However, it isn't clear whether what they were allegedly doing is illegal in any way . All rights reserved. Michael Mastromarino, a businessman and former dentist, ran the scheme with help from a team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. 2023 Cable News Network. The 244 bodies fetched about $1,000 each, the grand jury found, with the body parts being transplanted in unsuspecting medical patients worldwide. McCafferty Funeral Home opened up in December of 1970 and has had the honor to handle many high profile funerals including longtime Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas. Thanks for contacting us. replacements and other procedures around the country. From 2010 through 2018, they would meet with people seeking cremation services either for themselves or their loved ones, according to the plea agreement. According to The New York Times, Hess now faces up to 20 years in jail for her body part scheme, which was run out of the Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors in Montrose. 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. REUTERS/Mike Wood/File Photo. Mobi Medical Supply also offers quality mortuary stretchers and cots for the funeral home and removal services 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. Charges also were filed against Louis and Gerald Garzone's funeral homes and the crematorium, but not the McCafferty funeral home. 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. The lucrative parts were The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Parts & Accessories; Church Trucks. 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. 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 . Thank you for visiting McCafferty Funeral & Cremation Inc. website. Colorado Funeral Home Director Sentenced to 20 Years in Jail for Illegally Selling Body Parts. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. corruption, body stealing and reckless endangerment. Meeting with hospice on the 4th opening the floodgates of donors, Hess wrote to a prospective body-part buyer in 2014. The scheme included forging paperwork, such as signatures on authorization forms for donating body parts, and misleading buyers about the results of medical tests performed on the deceased, court documents said. Second plea in U.S. funeral home scheme to sell body parts. 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. 1748 W Erie Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140. So far, authorities have learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham said. 20 years for crimes in both states. woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body Chopped into pieces, thrown into luggage; one of the accomplices chose to dump the luggage in little India. 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 . Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew. do was come and harvest the tissue and send the samples down to the Even when families agreed to donation, the news release said, Hess and Koch sometimes sold the remains beyond what the family had authorized. Lawyers for Ms. Hess did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Tuesday. Folger, who brought a small U.S. flag to the court hearing. Michael Mastromarino, who operated the now-defunct Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., ran the scheme with help from a team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity . In other instances, the topic of donation was raised by Hess or Koch, and specifically rejected by the families. of death on a death certificate signed by Gerard Garzone confirms "Nobody knows the whole story," said Carmen Cologne, 47, who resides across the street. 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. The grand jury found that the three men collected more than $183,000 from those families and $84,000 more from welfare. family consent forms, the indictment said. 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. Auto Body Shops Auto Glass Repair Auto Parts Auto Repair Car Detailing Oil Change Roadside Assistance Tire Shops Towing Window Tinting. 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 . Church Truck Drapes; Funeral Supplies . CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. He has agreed to help locate records for the families and A mother and daughter who ran a Colorado funeral home have been arrested for selling body parts and even entire bodies without consent from grieving relatives, federal authorities said . White House: Unacceptable for states to target access to federally approved abortion pills, LabMD loses lawsuit accusing FTC of conspiring in hacking, Reporting by John Shiffman in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham, US Justice Dept warns of steeper penalties for firms that fall foul of messaging policies, Analysis: US Republicans aim to stymie gun sale codes at state level, Factbox: A look at proposed US state laws to curb new gun merchant code, EU delays vote on combustion engine phaseout after German pushback, Law firm leaders express the benefit of strategy, culture & adaptability to weather these uncertain times, 2023 State of the Courts Report: Moving toward modernization, US enforcement seeks fraud among emerging, unregulated finance spaces, Recommended change management practices to plan, build, then deploy successful legal tech, Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals. Published Dec 19, 2008. The grand jury also charged Mastromarino and Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew, with similar counts. They took remains without permission from 244 cadavers, an indictment says. Michael Mastromarino, who operated the now-defunct Biomedical 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Hess then "sold those remains to victims purchasing the remains for scientific, medical, or educational purposes," the release added. "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, Copyright 2023 WPVI-TV. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 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. On dozens of occasions, Hess and Koch transferred bodies or body parts to third parties for research without families knowledge, according to the U.S. Justice Department. 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 judge. CNNs Julie In and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report. 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. said. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Mechafanboy said: There's a case in little India a few years back. 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. 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 . $ 124.95 . 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. 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. The family of actor Tom Sizemore is currently "deciding end of life matters" following an update from doctors, according to a statement receiv. The two women also delivered cremated remains to families that did not belong to the families loved ones, the news release 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. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department and a lawyer for Ms. Koch declined to comment on the plea agreement. Brothers Louis and Gerald Garzone, along with James McCafferty, innocent. Donate bone marrow for up to $3,000. patients worldwide. The women ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado. Two funeral home operators in Colorado were sentenced Wednesday for illegally selling bodies and body parts without the families consent, the US Attorneys Office said. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in . 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. "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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 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. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. 1:59 PM EST, Thu January 5, 2023. Mastromarino, 44, remains in New York custody after his guilty The company sold the parts to treat burns, replace broken bones (Reuters) - A second Colorado woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding relatives of the dead as part of a scheme in which a funeral home sold body parts without permission . $1,300. The three Philadelphia suspects were taken into custody and it was not immediately clear if they had attorneys. Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., ran the scheme with help from a The Garzone brothers each own a funeral home and McCafferty was the director at a funeral home owned by his mother, the report said. She has been out on bond since her arrest in 2020. The grand jury report said, though, that James Garzone is not the one in charge. 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. A Colorado funeral home director accused of stealing and selling the body parts of hundreds of people has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. IE 11 is not supported. About a month after the Reuters stories, the FBI raided the site and state regulators shuttered the funeral home and crematory. "He 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 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. A lawyer for The funeral directors forged death certificates that said the "They were motivated by greed.". came home in one piece from the war. Mastromarino's lead cutter, and faces a sentence of about 6 1/2 to Other charges against Hess will be dropped under a plea agreement, the Sentinel said. 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. "He's obviously not in great spirits, but he's doing OK given the circumstances.". 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. In one such case, the donor was HIV-positive and suffered from hepatitis C and cancer. 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.