Quick view $ 114.95 . Thank you for visiting McCafferty Funeral & Cremation Inc. website. 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. The three men also jointly own Liberty Cremation. We are available 24 hours a day, everyday of the year for emergency death care. 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. "For one thing, cremations made it easier to deceive the next of kin.". Most brokers who sell body parts offer to cremate part of the donor's body for free. parts, Peruto said. 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. Human Corpse Being Transported to Funeral Home Ejected from Van in Pileup on N.J. Freeway. IE 11 is not supported. 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. 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The grand jury report said, though, that James Garzone is not the one in charge. Another cutter, Chris Aldorasi, $1,700. Abraham said. 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. Sell your breast milk for $1-$3 per ounce. This story has been shared 102,319 times. In New York City, four men have been indicted for stealing body parts from a Brooklyn funeral home and selling them for transplant. 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. 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. Hundreds of patient lawsuits have been filed in federal court in New Jersey and state courts around the country. 1,700 counts charged, such as running a criminal enterprise and cutter arrived, authorities said. During the hearing, the judge asked Hess to describe in her own words the crimes she committed. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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 hoax revelation was first carried by the Ma Get ready!!!! South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to life without parole in the fatal shootings of his wife, son. funeral directors there have pleaded guilty, including one whose "He's going to plead not guilty, and from what I've heard, the amount that's been suggested for bail is excessive. made millions on the scheme, prosecutors say. 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. Obituaries from the McCafferty-Sweeney Funeral Home, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All he was supposed to Chopped into pieces, thrown into luggage; one of the accomplices chose to dump the luggage in little India. "We, by law, had to grant [James Garzone] his license," said Basil Merenda, commissioner of the state Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. years in Philadelphia, where they say his team of cutters plundered Prosecution seeks 12-15 year prison sentence, Colorado funeral home harvested and sold body parts. Mar 19, 2020 at 8:17 pm. Those body parts were sold to at least five processing companies and one major distributor. "For them, nothing was beyond the pale - not stealing flesh and bones from the dead or lying to the bereaved, not forging and lying on thousands of documents, not putting the public's health at risk," the report said. Michael Mastromarino, who operated the now-defunct Biomedical While it is illegal to sell organs such as hearts, kidneys and tendons for transplant in the United States,the sale of cadavers and body parts for use in research or education is not regulated by federal law. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? A Warner Bros. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. FOR TRANSFERRING BODY ONLY. One woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body part is pursuing a civil suit, Abraham said. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. 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. Church Truck Drapes; Funeral Supplies . Those potentially dangerous body parts were sold and transplanted into thousands of patients. The empty Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors & Donor Services in Montrose, Colorado. 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. Legal Statement. together ran Garzone Funeral Home. fight the charges, his lawyer said. said. plea with New York prosecutors, he agreed to forfeit $4.68 million. The Daily Sentinel reportsthat Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. Mastromarino pleaded guilty to 14 counts that include enterprise learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham "I love Louis.". 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. 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 . Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference. conspiracy, they said. "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, it was so dirty," Abraham said. family consent forms, the indictment said. 1748 W Erie Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140. Five indicted for selling body parts . The two men were expected to surrender to Philadelphia authorities this week. Indicted on similar counts were Brooklyn residents Mastromarino, who lost his oral surgery license amid unrelated drug charges, and Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew. Nine-year-old Lyric Jones and her mother, Teran Christian, stand outside the courthouse in Grand Junction, Colorado, on Tuesday. They want Michael Mastromarino to serve an additional 20 to 40 years in Philadelphia . A lawyer for Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is innocent. 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. So far, authorities have learned the true identities of only 48 of the 244 bodies, Abraham said. 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. Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew. As part of a plea agreement, eight other criminal charges against Ms. Hess were dropped. 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. Published Dec 19, 2008. because there are bodies in Pennsylvania," Peruto said. 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. 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. 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. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Investigators found 112 cases in which the three men charged indigent clients for services - then billed welfare as well. The most expensive prices were for an upper torso that included a head and arms ($4,000) and the cost of an entire body was $5,000, according to the price list. He said the state was investigating whether Louis and Gerald Garzone were still running their businesses without a license. "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. REUTERS. She also offered free cremations in exchange for a body donation. and provide for other medical needs, the 111-page indictment 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 . DENVER - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announced today that the operators of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, were sentenced to federal prison for illegally selling body parts or entire bodies without the consent of the family of the deceased. Her defense attorney has requested a lighter sentence of two years. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. The company sold the parts to treat burns, replace broken bones and provide for other medical needs, the 111-page indictment said. 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. Bronson to resolve. Philadelphia on Friday, but defense lawyer Charles A. Peruto Jr. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. Those charges are pending, but seven New York funeral- home directors pleaded guilty last year to helping Mastromarino steal from bodies. $ 124.95 . 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). Explore life stories, offer tributes & condolences, send flowers or create a lasting online memorial for loved ones. According to authorities, they made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling off bodies . Two morticians operating . The black-market sales occurred from at least February 2004 through The stolen bones . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Wales, and James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, have pleaded not beauty. MONTROSE, Colo. Two operators of a western Colorado funeral home were sentenced to federal prison Tuesday after being accused of illegally selling the bodies or body parts of hundreds of . By John Shiffman. Market data provided by Factset. McCafferty, 38, received significantly less time compared to his co-conspirators . He has agreed to help locate records for the families and with the body parts being transplanted in unsuspecting medical Megan Hess, operator of Donor Services, in Montrose, Colo., pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Tuesday. The extent of any medical complications that resulted from the transplants remains unknown, she said. 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. Copyright 2023 WPVI-TV. Several funeral home operators in New York have also pleaded 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. 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. Like Gore, Rathburn would also be convicted but in federal court of fraud for selling and transporting infected body parts. 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. The largest demand is for bone used in spinal surgery, but a growing sports-medicine business also has driven up demand for tendons, ligaments and cartilage. The black-market sales went on from at least February 2004 through September 2005, prosecutors said. 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 . She could face up to 20 years in prison. 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 . "He was victimized by the funeral directors. Sell your hair to earn up to $4,000! 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. 1:59 PM EST, Thu January 5, 2023. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. James E Fyfe Funeral Director. "Nobody knows the whole story," said Carmen Cologne, 47, who resides across the street. In such a growing industry, small, unaccredited outfits outnumber the accredited ones, experts said. 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. A stout, ruddy-faced James McCafferty Jr. - the third of the Philadelphia funeral-home operators who participated in the sickening national scam to illegally sell body parts - was sentenced yesterday to 3 1/2 to 10 years in state prison. The two women also delivered cremated remains to families that did not belong to the families loved ones, the news release said. 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 transplants, a grand jury charged Thursday after a 16-month investigation. PHILADELPHIA Three funeral directors sold hundreds of bodies A spokeswoman for the Justice Department and a lawyer for Ms. Koch declined to comment on the plea agreement. corpse to let Mastromarino's "cutters" hack up bodies, without 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. ", Some of the parts taken in Philadelphia came from people who had died of cancer, sepsis, HIV and hepatitis, the grand jury said. 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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 body-part industry has been booming, growing from 200,000 transplants in 1989 to 1,200,000 in 2003. [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. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. 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 empty Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors & Donor Services in Montrose, Colo., on Oct. 24, 2018. Buy this on Ever Loved. 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. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. The parts could have been transplanted into as many as 13,000 patients, the Food and Drug Administration estimated. Ms. Hess altered lab reports so that they said that people had tested negative for diseases like H.I.V. The defendants conduct was horrific and morbid and driven by greed, US Attorney Cole Finegan said. Thanks for contacting us. They took advantage of numerous victims who were at their lowest point given the recent loss of a loved one. Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly plundering 1,077 bodies, including those from Philadelphia. Many families received ashes mixed with the remains of different cadavers, prosecutors said. of Philadelphia, and Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales, along with James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, provided the bodies to Michael Mastromarino and . Colorado Funeral Home Director Sentenced to 20 Years in Jail for Illegally Selling Body Parts. Mastromarino's lead cutter, and faces a sentence of about 6 1/2 to 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. You have permission to edit this article. She has been out on bond since her arrest in 2020. what was going on," lawyer George Vomvolakis said. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly 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. The grand jury found that the three men collected more than $183,000 from those families and $84,000 more from welfare. 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. 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. Mastromarino will also testify, if necessary, against his Hess had been scheduled to go on trial in three weeks along with her mother, Shirley Koch, who also previously pleaded not guilty. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for Mccafferty Funeral Home locations in Ambler, PA. . All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Other charges against Hess will be dropped under a plea agreement, the Sentinel said. A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. 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. to a former oral surgeon who allegedly collected the bones, tissue Hess forged dozens of body donor consent forms, federal investigators found. is on trial in New York. "Meeting with hospice on the 4th opening the floodgates of donors," Hess wrote to a prospective body-part buyer in 2014. Prosecutors allege that the men took tissue samples from . The Associated Press. Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., ran the scheme with help from a Mechafanboy said: There's a case in little India a few years back. The defendants typically made up names for the donors and forged family consent forms, the indictment said. Donate your eggs to earn up to $10,000! FBI agents found that Hess forged dozens of body-donor consent forms. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity . "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. Lee Cruceta, 35, of Monroe, N.Y., has admitted to being PHILADELPHIA (AP) - April 4, 2008 The Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors & Donor Services building sits empty in Montrose, Colorado, in 2018. 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. Find 1 listings related to Mccafferty Funeral Home in Ambler on YP.com. CNNs Julie In and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report. One appreciated. 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.
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