Men charged with selling human cadavers, body parts

The former director of a university body-donor program has been charged with selling the donated human cadavers and body parts to private companies for his own profit.

Henry Reid, 57, made thousands of dollars from the sales while leading the program at the University of California, Los Angeles, the district attorney's office said.

His associate, Ernest Nelson, 49, made more than $1 million (euro760,000) by selling the cadavers and body parts supplied by Reid to more than 20 private medical, pharmaceutical and hospital research companies between 1999 and 2004, the office said.

Reid and Nelson each were charged with one count of conspiracy with the special allegations that the loss was more than $150,000 (euro114,200). Reid was also charged with one count of grand theft by embezzlement and one count of grand theft. Nelson was also charged with one count of grand theft and three counts each of tax evasion.