The income the mother and daughter earned from selling body parts enabled them to become the cheapest option for cremations in their region, increasing their supply of cadavers, the authorities said. The lucrative parts were 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). Mastromarino will also testify, if necessary, against his Philadelphia, Peruto said. 1748 W Erie Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140. Mar 19, 2020 at 8:17 pm. 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 . "They were motivated by greed.". The defendants conduct was horrific and morbid and driven by greed, US Attorney Cole Finegan said. Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference. 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. 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. 1:59 PM EST, Thu January 5, 2023. A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. 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. REUTERS/Mike Wood/File Photo. An attorney for Koch, Thomas E. Goodreid, declined to comment. We've received your submission. who lost his oral surgery license amid unrelated drug charges, and Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much otherwise healthy, prosecutors said. So far, authorities have learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham said. But prosecutors here are balking at any 2-for-1 deal. 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. IE 11 is not supported. According to NBC News, Hess and her mother now face 135 years in prison each. Louis Garzone's attorney, Howard Kaufman, said he had not seen the grand jury report and so could not comment on the charges. alleged underlings, three funeral home operators from North of death to make it appear the body parts were more fresh, Still, the authorities said, families typically paid $1,000 or more for a cremation that often never occurred. 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 . As part of his transplant recipients suing tissue banks over the often-diseased Hess forged dozens of body donor consent forms, federal investigators found. her fear. This is the cost to purchase a burial vault from the funeral home. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Megan Hess, 46, was sentenced Tuesday at a hearing in Grand Junction, Colorado for dissecting 560 . Several funeral home operators in New York have also pleaded for days, sometimes in alleys beside the funeral home, until a Get ready!!!! because there are bodies in Pennsylvania," Peruto said. All Rights Reserved. Published Dec 19, 2008. 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. 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. Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. Of the 244 bodies here, he changed the names on all but 48. 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, it was so dirty," Abraham said. Both Hess and Koch originally had pleaded not guilty to the charges. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. plea with New York prosecutors, he agreed to forfeit $4.68 million. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Written by Maya Davis. Lee Cruceta, 35, of Monroe, N.Y., has admitted to being Dozens of patients, including some from Philadelphia and New Jersey, said they contracted hepatitis C after getting a transplant. The defendants typically made up names for the donors and forged family consent forms, the indictment said. The three Philadelphia suspects were taken into custody and it 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. 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. 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. Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday and will fight the charges, his lawyer said. Like Gore, Rathburn would also be convicted but in federal court of fraud for selling and transporting infected body parts. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 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. A change of plea hearing for Koch, who initially pleaded not guilty, is scheduled for July 12 added the outlet. FBI agents found that Hess forged dozens of body-donor consent forms. "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. Despite surrendering their licenses, the two Garzone funeral homes have continued operating under the control of a third brother, James, who revived a dormant Pennsylvania funeral home director license. The grand jury also charged Mastromarino and Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew, with similar counts. Mastromarino Indicted on similar counts were Brooklyn residents Mastromarino, Those charges are pending, but seven New York funeral- home directors pleaded guilty last year to helping Mastromarino steal from bodies. innocent. ", 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.". "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. A second Garzone Funeral Home , at 4151 L St., also is charged. 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. "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. REUTERS. California residents do not sell my data request. 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 funeral cannot be certain of her claim because of the lack of records or a 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. 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. According to NBC, Hess is scheduled to be sentenced in January. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 7047 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19119. In one such case, the donor Hess, however, charged families to donate their bodies - $195, plus $300 more if relatives want cremated . MONTROSE, Colo. When funeral directors Megan Hess and Shirley Koch were sentenced after admitting to illegally selling body parts from the Sunset Mesa . 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. 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. 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. Families of the dead had no idea the bodies were being ransacked. As part of a plea agreement, eight other criminal charges against Ms. Hess were dropped. Add to cart More. 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 . The grand jury said five Philadelphia and 41 Pennsylvania hospitals implanted parts that originated with Mastromarino's operation. vowed to push for concurrent sentences. The black-market sales went on from at least February 2004 through September 2005, prosecutors said. guilty. corpse to let Mastromarino's "cutters" hack up bodies, without 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 hoax revelation was first carried by the Ma As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. The 244 bodies fetched about $1,000 each, the grand jury found, Mastromarino has pleaded not guilty to the New York charges. The company sold the parts to treat burns, replace broken bones Brothers Louis and Gerald Garzone, along with James McCafferty, "Nobody knows the whole story," said Carmen Cologne, 47, who resides across the street. He has agreed to help locate records for the families and Updated by the Garzones. In other instances, the topic of donation was raised by Hess or Koch, and specifically rejected by the families. Hess, 45, and her mother, Shirley Koch, operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. 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. PHILADELPHIA Three funeral directors sold hundreds of bodies See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. "He's obviously not in great spirits, but he's doing OK given the circumstances.". Updated. The United States Attorney's Office for the District . 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. 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. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for Mccafferty Funeral Home locations in Ambler, PA. . 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. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly dissecting corpses and selling body parts without consent from mourning relatives. "We, by law, had to grant [James Garzone] his license," said Basil Merenda, commissioner of the state Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. "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.". company that shipped bones, skin and tendons to tissue processors. James E Fyfe Funeral Director. A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly . Prosecutors allege that the men took tissue samples from . Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. family consent forms, the indictment said. together ran Garzone Funeral Home. Im taking responsibility.. 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. When prodded by the judge, Hess agreed with the prosecution that she defrauded her victims, though she declined to go into detail. 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. 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 . cutter arrived, authorities said. $1,700. CNNs Julie In and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report. "He The latest Gabs from KenMatthews (@KenMatthews). A burial vault is required for most cemeteries, but you may choose to purchase one online or elsewhere, if you'd wish. They took remains without permission from 244 cadavers, an indictment says. Thank you for visiting McCafferty Funeral & Cremation Inc. website. July 5, 2022 9:58pm. Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly plundering 1,077 bodies, including those from Philadelphia. 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 . "My husband was a World War II veteran of three years," said 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. patients worldwide. Her defense attorney has requested a lighter sentence of two years. Copyright 2023 WPVI-TV. The other location is at L and Lycoming Streets in Juniata Park. The extent of any medical complications that resulted from the transplants remains unknown, she said. team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. Associated Press. "This was not a coincidence," the grand jury said. G. Frank Page, Jr. Funeral Home. "Meeting with hospice on the 4th opening the floodgates of donors," Hess wrote to a prospective body-part buyer in 2014. In Philadelphia, most of the bodies were scheduled for cremation Famous Brooklyn Funeral Home Selling Body Parts 2022. 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 group also lowered the donors' ages and changed their dates Second plea in U.S. funeral home scheme to sell body parts. Donate your sperm to earn up to $1,500/mo! IE 11 is not supported. 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.