Font Size

New York Local News

E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Four Indicted In Body Part Sale Plot

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

Recipient E-mail:*
- Your Name:*
- Your E-mail:*
Add a Message:
Send me a copy of this e-mail.

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

Print Share + Comments

Feb 23, 2006 1:52 pm US/Eastern

Four Indicted In Body Part Sale Plot

Charged With Enterprise Corruption, Forgery

BROOKLYN (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 2: Allegedly forged organ donor consent form
Click to enlarge 2 of 2: A funeral home where tissue and bones were allegedly harvested for sale
CBS

Close

numSlides of totalImages

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced a 122-count indictment against Michael Mastromarino, owner of Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, NJ, and three other men. The defendants allegedly harvested bone and tissue from cadavers for sale as transplants, and forged death certificates and organ donor consent forms.

The indictments are the latest chapter in a widening scandal involving scores of funeral homes and hundreds of looted bodies.

The defendants were charged with enterprise corruption, body stealing and opening graves, unlawful dissection, forgery and other counts.

Prosecutors said that Dr. Mastromarino, an oral surgeon, went into the tissue business after losing his dental license.

The alleged victims included Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke, retired Brooklyn taxi driver Michael Bruno, and Danette Kogut, who all died of cancer.

They allegedly had their diseased body parts illegally sold through six Brooklyn funeral homes, including English Brothers of Sheepshead Bay.

Mastromarino surrendered to the D.A. Wednesday night.