Democrat & Chronicle: Body parts scam hits more in area This is a printer friendly version from the Democrat and Chronicle: March 8, 2006 Body parts scam hits more in area 3 families say they, plus many others, notified Steve Orr Staff writer At least three Rochester-area families said they were informed this week that their loved ones' bodies may have been illegally harvested for tissue at local funeral homes. They also said they were told that many other local families are receiving similar notification. The three families, who separately contacted the Democrat and Chronicle, said they were called by detectives from the District Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, which is spearheading a criminal investigation into a New Jersey company accused of obtaining cadaver tissue without the consent of donors or their families. The bones, skin and other tissue were sold for use in medical procedures. "I'm devastated because I feel violated," said Jill Wirth, 46, of Hilton, who said she was told Tuesday morning that the remains of her adoptive mother, Ruth Passarella, had been harvested last year. "I just ... wish they had gone with the flow and asked for my consent, because I probably would have given it. Now I'm hurt more than anything, to think they would go ahead and do what they want to do without saying something to me first." Wirth said the Brooklyn detective warned her she would not be alone in her anguish. "He did also tell me that he had 65 other calls to make today, telling people in this area the news." Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes last month obtained a 122-count indictment of Biomedical founder Michael Mastromarino and three other men. They are accused of harvesting tissue from bodies without consent in New York City, and of forging documents to enable that work. The telephone calls to Rochester-area families are fresh verification that authorities are looking into evidence that Biomedical engaged in the same sort of improper activities here. The company, which had an office in Brighton, formed working relationships with a few local funeral homes, which permitted cadavers to be harvested on their premises in return for fees that one funeral director said were $1,000 per body. A fourth local family said Monday that they had been notified in December by federal regulators that tissue had been taken from the remains of their late mother, Lottie Ann Warren-Kennedy. Her daughters said they never consented to the procedure, which they said took place at Serenity Hill's Funeral Chapel in Rochester. They said they were planning to file suit against the funeral home. Neither of the other two families who said they were notified by the Brooklyn district attorney would speak to a reporter on the record. But both provided details about their loved ones' deaths that the Democrat and Chronicle verified. And both shared details they received from Brooklyn investigators. Those family members, like Wirth, emphasized that they never gave consent for tissue donations. A spokesman for Hynes, Jonah Bruno, said Tuesday afternoon that he could not comment on the investigation. Monroe County District Attorney Mike Green, whose office also is looking into Biomedical, also declined to comment Tuesday. Whether there are 65 or more families in the Rochester area that now are being drawn into the investigation could not be verified, therefore. But that figure is commensurate with statements by a former Biomedical worker in the Rochester area, Kevin Vickers, who has estimated that the company harvested tissue from at least 50 cadavers in the Rochester area. Wirth said that arrangements for her mother's cremation, and a memorial service, were made through Thomas E. Burger Funeral Home in Hilton. Lawyer Adrian Burke, who is representing Burger Funeral Home, said the funeral home has answered requests for information from the Kings County District Attorney Office "and will continue to do so." He would not comment further about the investigation or about Wirth's assertions. Brooklyn investigators previously identified Burger as one of the local funeral homes that worked most often with Biomedical. 'Not much here' Recovering bones and other tissue from cadavers is a not-uncommon procedure, though that work usually is done at hospitals and rarely — except in Biomedical's case — at funeral homes. Vickers, who harvested tissue for Biomedical in Rochester for about five months in 2004 and 2005, said the work was done by a small team of employees who often worked late at night. Tissue was placed on ice and shipped from Rochester to Biomedical's New Jersey headquarters, where it would be preserved and then sold to larger tissue processing companies. Wirth said she was open to the idea of donation. "My mother and I had talked about it previously, and she would have been a donor. But you don't think of that when you're going through it. I probably would have said yes if they had asked. But they didn't ask." Her mother died in July 2005 at a Rochester nursing home at the age of 82. She had suffered from dementia and various health problems, Wirth said. It was not clear whether Passarella would have qualified as a donor. Regulations require screening of potential donors' medical and social history, as well as blood tests, to ensure the remains don't harbor communicable diseases. Biomedical has been accused in Brooklyn of faking some of these medical histories and selling tissue from unsuitable donors. In October, federal regulators directed the recall of all tissue supplied by Biomedical because they could not be sure it was disease-free. Wirth said she recalls nothing unusual about her dealings with the Hilton funeral home. She did not see her mother's remains after they were taken there. She said she is friends with the owner, Thomas Burger, though an associate of his handled her mother's case. She said, in fact, that Burger called her not long ago, after the first news reports noting his funeral home's association with Biomedical. "He said, 'Don't get upset. I feel very certain there won't be anything wrong here.'" After her mother's cremation, Wirth said, she opened the urn in which the remains were placed, and mentally compared them with the ashes of several other family members who had previously been cremated. "I looked at her and said, 'Gee, there's not much here.' I remember that now. Thinking back on it, there wasn't a whole lot of 'cremains' there," Wirth said. SORR@DemocratandChronicle.com Includes reporting by staff writer Gary Craig. Back Copyright 2005 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated 12/18/2002).