login
Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
Nurse Admits He Played Key Role in Corpse Plunder Case
February 01, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Organ Donation News
The looted parts were subsequently transplanted to unsuspecting patients in the US and Canada.
Cruceta’s $180,000-a-year role as 'the right-hand man' to Michael Mastromarino, the mastermind, earned him the dubious distinction of being a modern-day body snatcher.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, taking part in a corrupt organization, abuse of a corpse and 244 counts each of theft and forgery. He is in a deal for a lower sentence.
Lee Cruceta had never committed a crime, until he overlooked the protocols for harvesting tissue and supplying blood to intermediary companies that provided tissue to hospitals for implants, according to Assistant District Attorney Bruce Sagel.
Sagel told Common Pleas Judge Leon W. Tucker that since his arrest last year, Cruceta, 39, had 'cooperated fully' with authorities.
As part of his plea, Sagel and Maran negotiated a prison sentence of six years and eight months, concurrent in both states. Cruceta had been facing a maximum of 1,700 years in jail, if convicted of more than 1,000 counts.
The sentence will be served in New York, where he earlier pleaded guilty to related charges. He is expected to testify against the other defendants and won't be formally sentenced until those cases are resolved. Assistant Philadelphia district attorney Bruce Sagel said Mastromarino, the oral-surgeon-turned-mortician, was also expected to plead guilty. The timing of his plea was uncertain.
|
|
|
More News on: Nursing Home Care
 Comment & Contribute
|
Medwonders Health Network
- Health News Index
- News Quick Links
| News Categories: |
| » | Schizophrenia Drug Differentiates Cancer Stem Cells into Less Threatening Cells |
| » | Docs Who Seldom Meet Drug Reps Continue to Prescribe Drugs With FDA “Black Box” Warnings |
| » | Revision in Quality Standards for Heparin |
| » | Acne Drug Users At High Risk of Developing Eye Infections |
| » | Patients Who Take Antidepressants When in ICU More Likely to Die |
| More Drug News | |
|
