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Body-snatching ring boss 'guilty' Body-snatching ring boss 'guilty'
(about 1 hour later)
The head of a US body-snatching ring accused of stealing the parts of around 1,000 people has pleaded guilty, after striking a deal with prosecutors.The head of a US body-snatching ring accused of stealing the parts of around 1,000 people has pleaded guilty, after striking a deal with prosecutors.
Medical supplies boss Michael Mastromarino made millions from removing body parts from corpses and selling them for transplant illegally.Medical supplies boss Michael Mastromarino made millions from removing body parts from corpses and selling them for transplant illegally.
One of the bodies plundered was that of famous BBC broadcaster Alistair Cooke.One of the bodies plundered was that of famous BBC broadcaster Alistair Cooke.
Thousands of people received body part transplants supplied by Mastromarino's Biomedical Tissue Services. Thousands of people received body part transplants supplied by Mastromarino's firm, Biomedical Tissue Services.
The New Jersey company shipped bones, skin and tendons to tissue-processing companies such as Regeneration Technologies, LifeCell Corp and Tutogen Medical, which are in turn facing hundreds of civil lawsuits.
Cover up
The 44-year-old former oral surgeon pleaded guilty to one count of enterprise corruption, nine counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree, and four counts of body stealing.The 44-year-old former oral surgeon pleaded guilty to one count of enterprise corruption, nine counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree, and four counts of body stealing.
He said he forged documents, did not obtain consent from relatives, did not check for infectious diseases and forged documents to cover up his operations. They all worked together to make this sham business work, grow and make money. It was all about the greed. The greed spiralled out of control Patricia McNeill Assistant district attorney
He will be sentenced to between 18 and 54 years in jail in May. He said he did not obtain consent from relatives, did not check for infectious diseases and forged documents to cover up the operations of his scheme which ran from 2001 to 2005.
Mastromarino reached the plea deal earlier this year, although it nearly fell apart after prosecutors discovered the extent of his crimes. Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill said Mastromarino showed "a depraved indifference to human life" and that his actions led to the "grave risk of death to another person".
He will also have to return the more than $4.6m (£2.1m) he and his associates made from the tissue-harvesting operation.
"They all worked together to make this sham business work, grow and make money. It was all about the greed. The greed spiralled out of control," Ms McNeill added.
The bones of Alistair Cooke, the presenter of the BBC's Letter From America, were sold for $11,000 (£5,400) after he died from cancer in New York in 2004.
Mastromarino will be sentenced to between 18 and 54 years in jail in May.
He reached the plea deal earlier this year, although it nearly fell apart after prosecutors discovered the extent of his crimes.