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. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for Mccafferty Funeral Home locations in Ambler, PA. . Ms. Hess altered lab reports so that they said that people had tested negative for diseases like H.I.V. In such circumstances, despite lacking any authorization, Koch and Hess recovered body parts from, or otherwise prepared entire bodies of hundreds of decedents for body broker services.. Funeral Home Operator Pleads Guilty in 'Illegal Body Part Scheme' A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly dissecting corpses and selling body parts without consent from mourning relatives. The two men were expected to surrender to Philadelphia authorities this week. Many families received ashes mixed with the remains of different cadavers, prosecutors said. 1748 W Erie Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140. The three Philadelphia suspects were taken into custody and it All Rights Reserved. Hess, however, charged families to donate their bodies - $195, plus $300 more if relatives want cremated . Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. The 244 bodies fetched about $1,000 each, the grand jury found, They each pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Mastromarino has pleaded not guilty to the New York charges. IE 11 is not supported. 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. PHILADELPHIA Three funeral directors sold hundreds of bodies her fear. 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. 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. Sunset Mesa funeral home owners sentenced to federal prison Prosecutors recommended a sentence for Hess of 12 to 15 years. Prosecutors allege that the men took tissue samples from . Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. They were arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. Funeral directors Louis Garzone, 65, Gerald Garzone, 47, and James McCafferty, 37, were arrested Thursday on thousands of counts, ranging from running a corrupt organization to forgery and theft of body parts. "They were motivated by greed.". Add to cart More. otherwise healthy, prosecutors said. "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, it was so dirty," Abraham said. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 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. unbelievably craven nature of what they did," Philadelphia District Parts are supposed to be harvested within 15 hours of death, but some of those in Philadelphia sat unrefrigerated for up to 100 hours. Lawyers for Ms. Hess did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Tuesday. They took advantage of numerous victims who were at their lowest point given the recent loss of a loved one. and hepatitis when they had actually tested positive, according to the authorities. Thank you for visiting McCafferty Funeral & Cremation Inc. website. Funeral home owner who dismembered corpses, sold body parts sentenced vowed to push for concurrent sentences. Anyone can read what you share. Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. mccafferty funeral home selling body parts - zihsun.com Updated: 7:04 PM MST January 5, 2023. Add to Wishlist . 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. conspiracy, they 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 . CNNs Julie In and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report. 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. Auto Body Shops Auto Glass Repair Auto Parts Auto Repair Car Detailing Oil Change Roadside Assistance Tire Shops Towing Window Tinting. 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 lawyer for Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is innocent. G. Frank Page, Jr. Funeral Home. Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday in Philadelphia and will fight the charges, his lawyer said. 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. Like Gore, Rathburn would also be convicted but in federal court of fraud for selling and transporting infected body parts. Seven Those potentially dangerous body parts were sold and transplanted into thousands of patients. Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday and will fight the charges, his lawyer said. IE 11 is not supported. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. Montrose, Colorado: A former funeral home operator pleads guilty to Explore life stories, offer tributes & condolences, send flowers or create a lasting online memorial for loved ones. All rights reserved. The women ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado. Montrose funeral homes selling body parts prompt charges | 9news.com 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. 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. Mastromarino's lead cutter, and faces a sentence of about 6 1/2 to Colorado Funeral Home Caught Selling Bodies Intended For Cremation Parts & Accessories; Church Trucks. years in Philadelphia, where they say his team of cutters plundered Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. It was not immediately known if the three funeral directors had attorneys. $1,700. 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. But prosecutors here are balking at any 2-for-1 deal. Sell your poop for up to $1,500 per month. "He's going to plead not guilty, and from what I've heard, the amount that's been suggested for bail is excessive. Colorado funeral home operators sentenced for selling body parts 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. A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. 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. Published Dec 19, 2008. . came home in one piece from the war. Of the 244 bodies here, he changed the names on all but 48. McCafferty, 38, received significantly less time compared to his co-conspirators . All Rights Reserved. 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). After the Reuters 2018 investigation, Colorado's legislature strengthened the state's oversight. Both Hess and Koch originally had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Two funeral home operators in Colorado were sentenced Wednesday for illegally selling bodies and body parts without the families' consent, the US Attorney's Office said. The company sold the parts to treat burns, replace broken bones and provide for other medical needs, the 111-page indictment said. Burial vault. Add to Compare. Funeral home operators sentenced after illegally selling body parts In one such case, the donor 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. 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That term was cut short Sunday morning when Mastromarino, 49, died at a New York hospital. Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew. He and Assistant District Attorney Bruce Sagel expect The looted bodies in New York include that of "Masterpiece "He's obviously not in great spirits, but he's doing OK given the circumstances.". Mastromarino has been fighting the New York charges. Megan Hess, who pleaded guilty to mail fraud, sold body parts without families consent in a business she operated with her mother, officials said. by the Garzones. Colorado Funeral Home Operator Pleads Guilty To Selling Human Corpses Selling body parts: Colorado's secret black market industry - KMGH 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 group also lowered the donors' ages and changed their dates of death to make it appear the body parts were more fresh, authorities said. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. He's not a flight risk," Kaufman said shortly after visiting his client last night. Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is The Garzone brothers each own a funeral home and McCafferty was the director at a funeral home owned by his mother, the report said. Mccafferty Funeral Home in Ambler, PA with Reviews Most brokers who sell body parts offer to cremate part of the donor's body for free. The garzone brothers each own a funeral home and mccafferty was the director at a funeral home owned by his mother, the report said. Michael Mastromarino, who operated the now-defunct Biomedical Expand. 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 . Investigators found 112 cases in which the three men charged indigent clients for services - then billed welfare as well. Chopped into pieces, thrown into luggage; one of the accomplices chose to dump the luggage in little India. Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference. McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia; were arrested Thursday on 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. Those charges are pending, but seven New York funeral- home directors pleaded guilty last year to helping Mastromarino steal from bodies.