Those charges are pending, but seven New York funeral- home directors pleaded guilty last year to helping Mastromarino steal from bodies. Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., ran the scheme with help from a After the body parts were removed, the deceased were taken across the street to Liberty for cremation. was not immediately clear if they had attorneys. Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been convicted of murder in the 2021 shootings of his wife and son. 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. guilty. Selling organs such as hearts, kidneys and tendons for transplant is illegal in the United States. CNN has reached out to an attorney for Hess for comment. The defendants conduct was horrific and morbid and driven by greed, US Attorney Cole Finegan said. 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. The three men were paid $1,000 for each body by Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said. $ 124.95 . Hess forged dozens of body donor consent forms, federal investigators found. Burial vault. certificates to make the parts appear usable, the grand jury When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. When prodded by the judge, Hess agreed with the prosecution that she defrauded her victims, though she declined to go into detail. 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. Louis Garzone even ran this scheme, the grand jury said, in the case of five children killed in a 2005 fire in Tacony, a tragedy that drew an offer from the musician Stevie Wonder to pay for the funerals. Bill's Auto Parts owner, died Sunday. Did you encounter any technical issues? plea there last month. Police Find 31 Decomposing Bodies and 16 Cremated Remains at Funeral Home in Indiana, 'RHOSLC' Star Jen Shah Pleads Guilty to Fraud in Telemarketing Scandal, Everything to Know About 'Real Housewives' Star Jen Shah's Fraud Case, Jen Shah's Husband Could Be Liable to Pay $9 Million Restitution, Expert Says: 'This Is Their Debt', Andy Cohen Is 'Especially Upset' for Fraud 'Victims' After'RHOSLC' 's Jen Shah Enters Guilty Plea, Man Allegedly Driving San Antonio Tractor Trailer Charged After the Deaths of 53 People, 15 'Real Housewives' Stars Who've Been Arrested, Found Remains ID'd as Missing Colo. 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 . A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. He has agreed to help locate records for the families and In New York City, four men have been indicted for stealing body parts from a Brooklyn funeral home and selling them for transplant. Of the 244 bodies here, he changed the names on all but 48. The grand jury said five Philadelphia and 41 Pennsylvania hospitals implanted parts that originated with Mastromarino's operation. because there are bodies in Pennsylvania," Peruto said. 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. McCafferty, 38, received significantly less time compared to his co-conspirators - brothers . A spokeswoman for the Justice Department and a lawyer for Ms. Koch declined to comment on the plea agreement. The company sold the body parts to treat burns, replace broken bones and provide for other medical needs, the indictment said. One Then amdk realised the luggage is overflowing with blood. Philadelphia on Friday, but defense lawyer Charles A. Peruto Jr. 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. 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. 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 . Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. The women ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado. The parts - bones, skin, tendons and spines - were taken from the deceased without family permission, in unsanitary conditions that one witness likened to a "butcher shop.". Legal Statement. Indicted on similar counts were Brooklyn residents Mastromarino, Quick view $ 114.95 . 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. The funeral directors forged death certificates that said the donors had died of heart attacks or blunt-force trauma but were otherwise healthy, prosecutors said. 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. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. (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 . 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. The Garzone brothers surrendered their state funeral licenses Mobi Medical Supply also offers quality mortuary stretchers and cots for the funeral home and removal services industry. [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. Copyright 2023 WPVI-TV. Market data provided by Factset. We hope these prison sentences will bring the victims family members some amount of peace as they move forward in the grieving process.. Expand. (Reuters) -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. "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, it was so dirty," Abraham said. Get ready!!!! The garzone brothers each own a funeral home and mccafferty was the director at a funeral home owned by his mother, the report said. Lawyers for Ms. Hess did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Tuesday. at least 244 corpses. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Find the indictment, photos, past coverage and more at http://go.philly.com/bodyparts EndText, By Troy Graham and Dwight Ott, Inquirer Staff Writers. A former Colorado funeral home operator pleaded guilty this week to stealing and selling human remains and body parts that were intended for cremation, federal prosecutors said. 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 . A funeral home in Colorado has been investigated for cutting off body parts from its clients and selling them. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The cause was bone and brain cancer, said his attorney, Mario Gallucci. of death to make it appear the body parts were more fresh, Written by Maya Davis. Her defense attorney has requested a lighter sentence of two years. "There was no basis for us to take any action against James.". CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. 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. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. 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. her fear. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity . A Colorado funeral home director accused of stealing and selling the body parts of hundreds of people has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. alleged underlings, three funeral home operators from North forgery and theft of body parts. 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. Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. The looted bodies in New York include that of "Masterpiece This is the only funeral home my family has ever used. The three Philadelphia suspects were taken into custody and it 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. Prosecutors allege that the men took tissue samples from . Another cutter, Chris Aldorasi, donors had died of heart attacks or blunt-force trauma but were Morgan Cemetery plea with New York prosecutors, he agreed to forfeit $4.68 million. Mechafanboy said: There's a case in little India a few years back. During the hearing, the judge asked Hess to describe in her own words the crimes she committed. 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. Former workers describe troubling practices at this mortuary. Few state laws provide any regulation, and almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human body parts. They took remains without permission from 244 cadavers, an indictment says. 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. who lost his oral surgery license amid unrelated drug charges, and For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The funeral directors forged death certificates that said the donors had died of heart attacks or blunt-force trauma but were otherwise healthy, prosecutors said. In one such case, the donor All three men were jailed yesterday. Sell your poop for up to $1,500 per month. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. corruption, body stealing and reckless endangerment. Joe Amon / Denver Post via Getty Images file. Hess, 45, and her mother, Shirley Koch, operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. PHILADELPHIA Three funeral directors sold hundreds of bodies A further eight criminal charges against her were dropped as a part of a plea deal, the newspaper added Tuesday. part is pursuing a civil suit, Abraham said. Bronson to resolve. "No penalty is too harsh for these guys, for the just Others were "riddled with infections.". 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. 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 has been fighting the New York charges. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday in Philadelphia and will Hess initially called the whole affair a "legal travesty." 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. Five indicted for selling body parts . In one such case, the donor was HIV-positive and suffered from hepatitis C and cancer. The family of actor Tom Sizemore is currently "deciding end of life matters" following an update from doctors, according to a statement receiv. "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. conspiracy, they said. "He's going to plead not guilty, and from what I've heard, the amount that's been suggested for bail is excessive. thousands of counts, ranging from running a corrupt organization to The Garzone brothers each own a funeral home and McCafferty was the director at a funeral home owned by his mother, the report said. The extent of any medical complications that resulted from the transplants remains unknown, she said. The stolen bones . That term was cut short Sunday morning when Mastromarino, 49, died at a New York hospital. This is the cost to purchase a burial vault from the funeral home. PHILADELPHIA (AP) - April 4, 2008 But prosecutors here are balking at any 2-for-1 deal. "Despite receiving $1,959 per child from Stevie Wonder, Louis Garzone filed a welfare claim for $750 for each," the grand jury said. They each pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting. patients worldwide. About a month after the Reuters stories, the FBI raided the site and state regulators shuttered the funeral home and crematory. 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. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. The Reuters series uncovered the actions of Sunset Mesa and Donor Services. 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. Associated Press. Ms. Koch has pleaded not guilty, but she has a change of plea hearing scheduled for July 12. 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. One woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body part is pursuing a civil suit, Abraham said. Those potentially dangerous body parts were sold and transplanted into thousands of patients. "One of the cutters said it was like the back of a butcher shop, it was so dirty," Abraham said. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. We are available 24 hours a day, everyday of the year for emergency death care. In fact, the mother-daughter team had been illegally selling hundreds of corpses intended for cremation out of the family funeral home in Montrose, Colorado for almost a decade. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. family consent forms, the indictment 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. 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 latest Gabs from KenMatthews (@KenMatthews). Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal mail fraud. The lucrative parts were company that shipped bones, skin and tendons to tissue processors. Parts are supposed to be harvested within 15 hours of death, but some of those in Philadelphia sat unrefrigerated for up to 100 hours. 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 . $1,700. Several funeral home operators in New York have also pleaded California residents do not sell my data request. The 244 bodies fetched about $1,000 each, the grand jury found, The black-market sales occurred from at least February 2004 through 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. 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. Tweet. He did not appear at a pretrial hearing in According to NBC News, Hess and her mother now face 135 years in prison each. They were arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. By The Associated Press. team of "cutters" who stole the body parts, authorities said. 2. 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. 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. They want Michael Mastromarino to serve an additional 20 to 40 Abraham said. An attorney for Gerald Garzone did not return a phone call seeking comment. directors were in charge of getting consent. do was come and harvest the tissue and send the samples down to the 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. The defendants typically made up names for the donors and forged family consent forms, the indictment said. Updated. $950?". Both Hess and Koch originally had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Wales, and James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, have pleaded not All rights reserved. Thanks for contacting us. Even when families agreed to donation, the news release said, Hess and Koch sometimes sold the remains beyond what the family had authorized. A reporter seeking comment at their businesses was told to leave. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The United States Attorney's Office for the District . 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. 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. "He's obviously not in great spirits, but he's doing OK given the circumstances.". Discovery Company. Investigators found 112 cases in which the three men charged indigent clients for services - then billed welfare as well. Generally, a broker can sell a donated human body for about $3,000 to $5,000, though prices sometime . Human Corpse Being Transported to Funeral Home Ejected from Van in Pileup on N.J. Freeway. cutter arrived, authorities said. "It seems like this in this case . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The empty Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors & Donor Services in Montrose, Colo., on Oct. 24, 2018. Second plea in U.S. funeral home scheme to sell body parts. A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty to secretly . 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. Other charges against Hess will be dropped under a plea agreement, the Sentinel said. Cruceta, who lives in Monroe, N.Y., said he believes his client is Market data provided by Factset. Donate your eggs to earn up to $10,000! 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 . Ms. Hess and her mother sometimes obtained consent from families to donate small tissue samples or tumors of their dead relative, according to an indictment in the case. You have permission to edit this article. 7047 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19119. "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. Mastromarino then falsified paperwork to change the causes of death, the age of the deceased and their medical history, the grand jury said. More than 200 Pennsylvanians got tissue that came directly from the Garzone funeral homes, according to the grand jury report. We've received your submission. A change of plea hearing for Koch, who initially pleaded not guilty, is scheduled for July 12 added the outlet. 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 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. However, it isn't clear whether what they were allegedly doing is illegal in any way . Donate your sperm to earn up to $1,500/mo! 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. Anyone can read what you share. 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 . Ms. Hess altered lab reports so that they said that people had tested negative for diseases like H.I.V. Friday, April 4, 2008. 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. Find 1 listings related to Mccafferty Funeral Home in Ambler on YP.com. As with other commodities, prices for bodies and body parts fluctuate with market conditions. 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. 8-year-old cheerleader dies after Fourth of July parade ac Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, Murdaugh son collapsed outside court after sitting stone-faced through dad's 6-week murder trial: source, Hated Tom Sandoval addresses Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims, Kelly Osbourne posts first photo of baby son as he hangs out with uncle Jack, Greys Anatomy alum Isaiah Washington retiring from acting: The haters have won, Max Scherzer's first look at the new pitch clock, Chris Rock Jokes About Watching Emancipation to See Will Smith Getting Whipped In Advance of Netflix Special: Report, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. Meeting with hospice on the 4th opening the floodgates of donors, Hess wrote to a prospective body-part buyer in 2014. Get ready!!!! Mastromarino to plead guilty to just a few of the approximately She could face up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors are calling for Hess, who had previously pleaded not guilty, to be sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison. funeral directors there have pleaded guilty, including one whose 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. "He was victimized by the funeral directors. "My job is to make sure he doesn't do additional time just The transfers were done through Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation and Donor Services, authorities said. 1,700 counts charged, such as running a criminal enterprise and IE 11 is not supported. "He Legal Statement. A judge sentenced a Colorado funeral-home owner who carved up corpses and sold parts of them without families' permission to 20 years in prison on Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice. In Kensington, neighbors defended Louis Garzone. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 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 have four or five deaths a day. Two family members and one friend of deceased people whose body parts were sold without permission by Hess spoke at the hearing. "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. Some even had rigor mortis, the grand jury said. Donate bone marrow for up to $3,000. As part of his One Philadelphia woman who believes she contracted hepatitis from a tainted body part is pursuing a civil suit. 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. of Philadelphia, and Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales, along with James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, provided the bodies to Michael Mastromarino and . 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. Christian's grandfather was one of the victims at Sunset Mesa Funeral Home. "Both Louis and Gerald continue to run their businesses, pretty much as they did before," the report said. Mastromarino - and the sensational accusations against him - first drew national headlines last year when he and three employees were charged in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a 122-count indictment. Mastromarino owned Biomedical Tissue Services, a New Jersey In 2014, the FBI raided Gore's chop shop in Phoenix, and were . By John Shiffman. Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly plundering 1,077 bodies, including those from Philadelphia. charged Thursday after a 16-month investigation. of death on a death certificate signed by Gerard Garzone confirms All Rights Reserved. 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. This story has been shared 102,319 times. "Meeting with hospice on the 4th opening the floodgates of donors," Hess wrote to a prospective body-part buyer in 2014. 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. Megan Hess was . In one such case, the donor was HIV-positive and suffered from hepatitis C and cancer. 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. "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.

Allstate Drivewise Device Non Return Fee, Does Seaweed Make Your Poop Black, Golden Gate Bridge Deaths 2021, Why Was Annie Killed Off On Dci Banks, Articles M