Up to 54 years for ringleader of body parts scheme

[June 28, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- The mastermind behind a multimillion-dollar scheme to loot hundreds of corpses and sell bone and tissue for transplants was sentenced Friday to 18 to 54 years in prison after he apologized to the horrified families of the deceased.

"I'm sorry for all the emotional pain I've caused," Michael Mastromarino told a Brooklyn judge in a soft voice before he was led to jail.

Mastromarino, 44, a former oral surgeon who owned New Jersey-based Biomedical Tissue Services, pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of enterprise corruption, body stealing and reckless endangerment.

Prosecutors had alleged he was the ringleader of a macabre plot hatched in 2001 to carve up bodies - including that of "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke - without permission or proper medical screening. The body parts were sold around the country for dental implants, knee and hip replacements and other procedures.

Authorities say about 10,000 people received parts supplied by BTS. Some now claim they were infected by the tainted tissue, including an Ohio mother of three who appeared in court on Friday to demand a harsh sentence for Mastromarino.

"Mr. Mastromarino's sick, disgusting, appalling actions, all in the name of greed, have devastated my family to the point where we can never recover," said Danya Ryan, 44, who claims she contracted hepatitis during a back surgery involving BTS bone.

Three others who worked with Mastromarino also were charged in the case, as were funeral home directors in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Chris Aldorasi, who worked as a so-called cutter for Mastromarino, was sentenced earlier this month to nine to 27 years in prison. Another cutter, Lee Cruceta, who pleaded guilty and testified against Aldorasi, is facing up to 20 years in prison.

The cutters removed parts from the bodies.

[Associated Press; By TOM HAYS]

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