7 people accused of illegally removing body parts from corpses in New York

Three funeral home directors and four former employees of a biomedical supply company secretly removed skin, bone and other body parts from dozens of corpses awaiting cremation at Rochester funeral homes, prosecutors said Thursday.

An indictment unsealed Thursday charges the seven with body stealing, unlawful dissection and other counts. The most serious charges carry maximum 20-year prison sentences.

"Put yourself in the position of one of the family members," said Monroe County District Attorney Michael Green. "What we've heard from them is that this is just absolutely devastating."

Four of those charged worked at a suburban Rochester branch of now-defunct Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Four other men, including the company's owner, former dentist Michael Mastromarino, were charged last year with removing bone and tissue from 1,077 bodies at funeral homes without the permission of families. All have pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors said Mastromarino made millions of dollars by selling body parts to biomedical companies that supply material for common procedures, including dental implants and hip replacements.

In October, seven funeral home directors linked to the scheme pleaded guilty in New York City to undisclosed charges and agreed to cooperate with investigators. They included the director of a funeral home that took parts from the body of "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke, who died in 2004, defense attorneys say.