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. 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. Folger, who brought a small U.S. flag to the court hearing. The group also lowered the donors' ages and changed their dates The empty Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors & Donor Services in Montrose, Colo., on Oct. 24, 2018. Legal Statement. 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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. Donate your sperm to earn up to $1,500/mo! authorities said. This story has been shared 102,319 times. Two morticians operating . We've received your submission. "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. last year but continued to run their two homes in Philadelphia, Mastromarino's lead cutter, and faces a sentence of about 6 1/2 to 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. Instead of cremating the bodies, she harvested heads, spines, arms and legs and then sold them, according to court records. 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 . 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. 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. Families of the dead had no idea the bodies were being ransacked. 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. As part of a plea agreement, eight other criminal charges against Ms. Hess were dropped. 2023 Cable News Network. what was going on," lawyer George Vomvolakis said. learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham "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. husband's body parts.". $950?". 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. The funeral directors were in charge of getting consent. A lawyer for Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is innocent. Updated. donors had died of heart attacks or blunt-force trauma but were 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. 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. They want Michael Mastromarino to serve an additional 20 to 40 years in Philadelphia . But (Garzone) took my Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. The Garzone brothers surrendered their state funeral licenses While the mostly poor families thought their loved ones were Lawyers for Ms. Hess did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Tuesday. One Philadelphia woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body part is pursuing a civil suit. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The dispute will likely be left for Common Pleas Judge Glenn 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. "My job is to make sure he doesn't do additional time just 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. beauty. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. of death on a death certificate signed by Gerard Garzone confirms 1,700 counts charged, such as running a criminal enterprise and 1748 W Erie Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140. 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. Seven Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday in Philadelphia and will "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. CNN has reached out to an attorney for Hess for comment. As part of his An attorney for Koch, Thomas E. Goodreid, declined to comment. Thanks for contacting us. Hess is tentatively set to be sentenced in January. The pair charged customers $1,000 or more for cremations that never occurred. Copyright 2023 WPVI-TV. 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. James E Fyfe Funeral Director. IE 11 is not supported. 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. 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. Mastromarino owned Biomedical Tissue Services, a New Jersey Add to Wishlist . A Colorado funeral home director accused of stealing and selling the body parts of hundreds of people has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department and a lawyer for Ms. Koch declined to comment on the plea agreement. 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 . fight the charges, his lawyer 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. 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. The cause was bone and brain cancer, said his attorney, Mario Gallucci. Published Dec 19, 2008. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. 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 . 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 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. [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. Hundreds of patient lawsuits have been filed in federal court in New Jersey and state courts around the country. 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. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. and provide for other medical needs, the 111-page indictment said. Philadelphia on Friday, but defense lawyer Charles A. Peruto Jr. "Both Louis and Gerald continue to run their businesses, pretty much as they did before," the report 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. CNNs Julie In and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much and hepatitis when they had actually tested positive, according to the authorities. 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. Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been convicted of murder in the 2021 shootings of his wife and son. Get ready!!!! 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. All Rights Reserved. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. In one such case, the donor was HIV-positive and suffered from hepatitis C and cancer. He and Assistant District Attorney Bruce Sagel expect 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. Updated: 7:04 PM MST January 5, 2023. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. family consent forms, the indictment said. The grand jury said five Philadelphia and 41 Pennsylvania hospitals implanted parts that originated with Mastromarino's operation. McCafferty, 38, received significantly less time compared to his co-conspirators . 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. Hess forged dozens of body donor consent forms, federal investigators found. 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. 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. 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. Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew. Morgan Cemetery Hess had been scheduled to go on trial in three weeks along with her mother, Shirley Koch, who also previously pleaded not guilty. In Kensington, neighbors defended Louis Garzone. Louis Garzone, 65, of Philadelphia, Gerald Garzone, 47, of North The Garzone brothers each own a funeral home and McCafferty was the director at a funeral home owned by his mother, the report said. Tweet. "He's obviously not in great spirits, but he's doing OK given the circumstances.". Donate bone marrow for up to $3,000. The women ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado. Michael Mastromarino, a businessman and former dentist, ran the scheme with help from a team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. In other instances, the topic of donation was raised by Hess or Koch, and specifically rejected by the families. to a former oral surgeon who allegedly collected the bones, tissue Joe Amon / Denver Post via Getty Images file. This is the cost to purchase a burial vault from the funeral home. 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 . Get ready!!!! of death to make it appear the body parts were more fresh, Some even had rigor mortis, the grand jury said. The black-market sales went on from at least February 2004 through September 2005, prosecutors said. Christian's grandfather was one of the victims at Sunset Mesa Funeral Home. A burial vault is required for most cemeteries, but you may choose to purchase one online or elsewhere, if you'd wish. Nine-year-old Lyric Jones and her mother, Teran Christian, stand outside the courthouse in Grand Junction, Colorado, on Tuesday. Still, the authorities said, families typically paid $1,000 or more for a cremation that often never occurred. "My husband was a World War II veteran of three years," said appreciated. younger brother, Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales; and James (Reuters) - A second Colorado woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding relatives of the dead as part of a scheme in which a funeral . So far, authorities have learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham said. parts, Peruto said. A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly . 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. But prosecutors here are balking at any 2-for-1 deal. The family of actor Tom Sizemore is currently "deciding end of life matters" following an update from doctors, according to a statement receiv. 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 . Find 1 listings related to Mccafferty Funeral Home in Ambler on YP.com. 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. 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. 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. $1,300. 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. Mastromarino to plead guilty to just a few of the approximately Church Truck Drapes; Funeral Supplies . The defendants conduct was horrific and morbid and driven by greed, US Attorney Cole Finegan said. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Find the indictment, photos, past coverage and more at http://go.philly.com/bodyparts EndText, By Troy Graham and Dwight Ott, Inquirer Staff Writers. 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. Colorado funeral home owners sentenced to federal prison for selling body parts without families' permission Judge sentences Megan Hess to 20 years in prison and gives Shirley Koch a 15-year . 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. 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. of Philadelphia, and Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales, along with James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, provided the bodies to Michael Mastromarino and . He said he anticipated that prosecutors would ask for a high bail at an arraigment today. 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 . 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 . A second Garzone Funeral Home , at 4151 L St., also is charged. "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.