This week we’re bringing you a replay of a case that is one of the wildest—and most unsettling—stories we’ve ever covered. Back in 2005, headlines dubbed him the Body Snatcher of New York. Dr. Michael Mastromarino was a once-promising dentist who built a shady side business harvesting human tissue and bones without consent. What started as a booming “medical” enterprise unraveled into a shocking scandal that left thousands of families devastated, raised questions about the tissue donation industry, and earned Mastromarino a spot in true crime infamy.

 

We’re re-airing this episode now because it ties in more than you’d expect with the docuseries The Kings of Tupelo, which we’re covering all month long. The first episode is already out, and you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at Patreon.com/momsandmysteriespodcast to hear all three parts—plus get access to even more bonus content.

 

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Sources:

 

1. https://www.wired.com/2005/12/a-macabre-theater-of-greed/

2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4552742.stm

3. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/23/nyregion/alistair-cookes-bones-were-stolen-for-implantation-his-family-says.html

4. https://archive.is/20130127080006/http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_242213157.html

5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701569.html

6. https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/wife-of-body-snatcher-details-how-she-learned-ex-husband-illegally-harvested-sold-body-parts-in-doc-i-had-no-idea

7. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/nyregion/michael-mastromarino-dentist-guilty-in-organ-scheme-dies-at-49.html

8. http://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov/GCA00P00/WIQ3/WINQ130

9. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1759971/in-re-human-tissue-products-liability-litigation/?q=Biomedical%20Tissue%20Services

10. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1917302/com-v-garzone/?q=Michael%20Mastromarino&type=o&order_by=score%20desc&stat_Precedential=on

11. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2443646/com-v-mastromarino/?q=Biomedical%20Tissue%20Services

12. https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/other-courts/2012/2012-ny-slip-op-22271.html

13. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1917334/com-v-garzone/?q=gerald%20Garzone&type=o&order_by=score%20desc&stat_Precedential=on

14. http://prev.dailyherald.com/story/?id=209415

15. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13192080/ns/health/t/grotesque-scandal-cheap-horror-movie/#.XruV6JNKg1I

16. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-paed-2_08-cv-03895/pdf/USCOURTS-paed-2_08-cv-03895-0.pdf

17. https://www.delcotimes.com/news/funeral-director-sentenced-in-pa-body-parts-scam/article_8d969b7f-1ac1-525c-af8f-f7866e121a5e.html

18. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/hp/news_update/20081219_Body-parts_defendant_who_aided_prosecutors_gets_shorter_term.html

19. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/31/usa

20. http://inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov/#/Result

21. http://media.philly.com/documents/pressrelease1.pdf

22. https://casetext.com/case/people-v-joseph-nicelli

23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1388122/

24. https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1702763&page=1

25. Bodysnatchers of New York documentary 

26. https://web.archive.org/web/20081019185440/https://www.fda.gov/cber/compl/bts013106.htm

27. https://www.silive.com/news/2009/01/former_staten_island_funeral_p.html

28. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15326025/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/funeral-directors-plead-guilty-body-part-plot/#.XrvUApNKg1I

29. https://www.foxnews.com/story/7-people-in-n-y-accused-of-illegally-removing-body-parts-from-corpses

30. http://prev.dailyherald.com/story/?id=257964

31. https://www.mpnnow.com/article/20110214/NEWS/302149887

32. https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/other-courts/2008/2008-52680.html

33. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4310548/gayton-serrell-people-v/?

34. https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/12/03/darlene-deats-body-parts-lawsuit/19831953/

35. https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20150121d70

36. https://www.mpnnow.com/article/20090919/NEWS/309199980

37. https://www.mpnnow.com/article/20090719/NEWS/307199986

38. https://www.mpnnow.com/article/20090415/NEWS/304159938

39. https://www.cantonrep.com/x50631018/New-York-woman-convicted-for-role-in-body-parts-scheme

40. https://www.aatb.org/regulatory

41. https://www.aatb.org/standards

42. https://www.lifelinktissuebank.org/about-us/history-of-tissue/

43. https://tissuebank.dcids.org/

44. https://www.donatelife.net/types-of-donation/tissue-donation/

45. The Body Snatcher’s Wife by Barbra Reifel