Michael Mastromarino, once a dentist in Fort Lee, raked in millions of dollars by selling pilfered bones, skin, ligaments, heart valves and other body parts to tissue reprocessing companies,. Owing in part to the product recall, 2005 was a very challenging year for RTI, Hutchison informed stockholders, but revenues for the first half of 2006 were up in the areas of spinal constructs, bone pastes, sports medicine, and general orthopedics. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. But why, asks Gallucci, didnt the FDA, the New York State Department of Health, RTI, and the others alert the company to this problem during their annual inspections? I could manage alone and take care of my daughter alone, and that was really comforting and reassuring," she says. The American Association of Tissue Banks calls it a medical revolution, but here is the sad part: Many people who need transplants cannot get them because there simply are not enough to go arounda mere 25,000 donors a year to supply more than a million tissue transplants. Michael received a Bachelor of Technology degree from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Louis Lanzano/AP Theyre trying to get somebody. Later the same year, Michael was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. You kind of brush it off like, Oh no, couldnt be that. As far as of course, the big moment where I realized that things were terribly wrong was when I learned he was a drug addict and cheating. And Barbra divorced him. Instead, he set up a network of undertakers and paid them up to $1,000 for each corpse. But there are nowhere near enough willing donors to meet the demand for tissue, so the profit from one body can reach six figures. Instead, he created a network of undertakers and paid them up to $1,000 for each corpse. . Mastromarinos wealth skyrocketed, and he was soon living in a New Jersey mansion where he installed heaters under his driveway so he didnt have to shovel snow during winter, NPR reported. Regeneration Technologies, Incorporated, is the full and hopeful name: When a part of you dies, you simply grow another part. Admitted body-parts harvester Michael Mastromarino heard yesterday from the enraged victims of his anatomical chop-shop, but dodged formal sentencing to an 18- to 54-year jail term because of a pap The dentist, Michael Mastromarino, 44, appeared in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, pleading guilty to numerous charges of enterprise corruption, reckless endangerment and body stealing. He is survived by two sons Michael and Jerry . All rights reserved. At one point, he was making over a million dollars a year. Investigators revealed that Michael made his fortune by stealing skin, bones and other body parts from deceased men and women and selling them. The sick doctor would then go to the funeral home and harvest the tissue. Most recently, Reifel has co-authored a memoir about her shocking marriage titled The Body Snatchers Wife: My Life With a Monster., Personally, it was a moment of relief for me, Reifel told Fox News when she learned that her former spouse had passed away while serving his prison sentence. Rafael Nadal Isnt Looking Like Rafael Nadal These Days. Michael Mastromarino, 49, was pronounced dead at 10am on Sunday at St. Luke's Hospital in Cornwall, New York according to prison officials. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. In 2008, he was sentenced to a maximum of 58 years in prison. "This wasn't like a stranger broke in my home and stole a ring. The family of British journalist Alistair Cooke was shocked to find out Mastromarino had obtained the body of the host of the PBS series Masterpiece Theatre. Holtzclaw, D; Toscano, N; Eisenlohr, L; Callan, D (2008), Last edited on 21 September 2022, at 00:48, "The Safety of Bone Allografts Used in Dentistry: A Review", Boss of notorious body snatching ring gets 54 years for harvesting, "FDA Orders Biomedical Tissue Services, Ltd., to Cease Manufacturing and to Retain Existing Inventories of Human Cells, Tissues and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products (HCT/Ps)", "Alistair Cooke's Bones Were Stolen for Implantation, His Family Says", "Bodysnatchers steal Alistair Cooke's bones", "Boss of notorious body snatching ring gets 54 years for harvesting", "Man who plundered body parts for profit pleads guilty", Mastermind of body parts scheme sentenced to prison, "Lawyers debate tainted-tissue cases in N.J court", "In New York, a Grisly Traffic in Body Parts: Illegal Sales Worry Dead's Kin, Tissue Recipients", "The man who made millions stealing skin and bones from corpses", "Husbands Secret Lives The Oprah Winfrey Show, January 08, 2010", "Bone snatcher Michael Mastromarino dies of bone cancer as victims see sad irony", Wife of Body Snatcher details how she learned Michael Mastromarino illegally harvested corpses in new book, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Order to Cease Manufacturing and to Retain HCT/Ps, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biomedical_Tissue_Services&oldid=1111441066, The case was the subject of the documentary, This page was last edited on 21 September 2022, at 00:48. This is a documentary I found interesting. Some of these body parts, according to the NY Daily News, came from corpses diseased with cancer and AIDS. She had prayed over many of them and had counseled parishioners never to cherish a corpse but to view it only as the empty vessel, a rather worthless item. He came to America in 1946 after WWII. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The high demand for organs has created a market and the opportunity for criminals. As for Mr. Cooke, his daughter, Susan Cooke Kittredge, said in an article in New York magazine that he would have been just horrified by the illegal harvesting. Judy Buenoana was dubbed The Black Widowbecause she attempted to murder those closest to her, including her husband, son, and partners. The problem lies in persuading the living to give up their dead. 16-Across, Three Letters: Like Norm MacDonalds humor. Mastromarino would meet with them behind a closed door and otherwise typically sat, behind a closed door, doing paperwork. stepmother Jeannette Mastromarino, his son Joseph Mastromarino, Jr., daughter Carly Mastromarino, 3 step-children Karen, Matthew, and Michael Burson, and his brothers Lawrence, Anthony, James, Charles, Christopher Mastromarino, and David . This Five-Inch Electric Brush Destroyed the Mold and Grime in My Rental. All these bodies, they seemed okay to me. Some of the body snatching occurred in a back room at the now-defunct Daniel George and Son Funeral Home on Bath Ave. in Bensonhurst, prosecutors said. Soon after, Karen and her husband got into their gold BMW and made the 2 1/2-hour drive to prison. As a nurse, he had developed the desire to touch, which had led to an interest in orthopedics. But 'happily ever after' wasnt in the cards after a fairytale wedding. "It was almost like a dream," she says. [4] The probe was first reported by the New York Daily News in October 2005, and led to a number of exhumations, including one of a Queens, New York, woman who had had many of her bones removed and replaced with PVC piping, which is a typical industry practice for cosmetic reconstruction of tissue donors. Then, one morning, Henry collapsed on the kitchen floor. He contacted RTI and told them that as a surgeon, he could do a better job, says Gallucci. In . I had no idea., FLORIDA MAN'S FORMER ESCORT WIFE TRIED HIRING A HIT MAN: 'I WAS PRAYING IT WASN'T HER', Alistair Cooke poses for a portrait in February 1983 in a hotel in San Francisco, California. Corneas can restore clear vision. '", Suddenly, Barbra realized Michael wasn't in the car alone. For spinal fusions and the repair of fractures, bone is in greatest demand, but veins may be used for bypass in heart surgery. He was born in Washington, D.C., and lived in Port St.. Find 22 people named Michael Mastromarino along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. (Photo courtesy of Barbra Reifel. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. The pressure to harvest debatable bodies was such that Cruceta bought a cell phone capable of taking photographs. NPR's 2012 series on human tissue donation looked at this global industry. Oprah.com: How to affair-proof your marriage. Michael Mastromarino was always doing what he loved most. less than 2 min read. As a result, Michaels dental license was suspended in 2002. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to numerous charges of enterprise corruption, reckless endangerment and body stealing and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. But theres plenty of responsibility to go around. But there is a legal way to perform that business and help people., FAMILY OF INFAMOUS MAFIA INFORMANT TOMMASO BUSCETTA COMES OUT OF HIDING FOR OUR GODFATHER DOC, DOROTHY STRATTENS PALS RECALL SEEING PLAYMATES BODY AFTER MURDER: IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS A HORROR MOVIE, The [funeral home] would call him and say, We have a body, she continued. And the money to be made in human tissueup to $100,000 a corpse depending on its use, according to Cheneylures forth desperate men who dont always abide by the rules. As NPR wrote last year in our series: You can't sell body parts, the law is clear about that. The cause was complications of metastatic liver cancer, Mario Gallucci, Dr. Mastromarinos lawyer, said. GHOULS CUT UP MY DAD - Weeping son speaks out on shocking body snatch plot - Vito Bruno, Michael Bruno. She discovered e-mails from multiple women who'd had affairs with her husband. It was then when Mastromarino became licensed by New York State to supply tissue banks and manufacturers of biological surgical instruments, the New York Times reported. A detective with the Brooklyn D.A.s office called to say there was evidence Alistair Cooke had been stolen. By Kate Willson, Vlad Lavrov, Martina Keller and Michael Hudson. And she has been surprised by how disturbed the theft of her fathers body has left her; she cant stop thinking about my father with his legs cut off., RTI tells her that Cookes bones were not sold, but neither have they been returned, and Kittredge says shed like to know what they did with them., Her only good fortune is that her father had a book posthumously published this past spring. (Photo courtesy of Barbra Reifel. Rather quickly, he conceived the notion of working his career in implantology from the opposite direction. Disposal, she explains, is not something Im inclined to spend a lot of money on, so I grabbed the phone book and started going through the Yellow Pages, looking for the best price on a direct cremation.. ROBERT BLAKES DAUGHTER REFLECTS ON HER TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD AFTER MOM BONNY LEE BAKLEYS MURDER, X-ray image showing how PVC pipe replaced bones removed from bodies is on display at a news conference during which Brooklyn prosecutors announced they were charging Michael Mastromarino, Joseph Nicelli and two lesser principals with 122 counts of body-stealing, grand larceny, forgery and other charges. Terms of Service apply. He designed and built the first Microsoft building and many buildings for The Boeing Company employing the principles . [1] Of the numerous companies who purchased the illegally obtained body parts, or tissue, none had ever contacted the family member listed on the deceased consent forms to verify the consent, or even that the consenting person listed actually existed. At the same time, he would have appreciated the Dickensian nature of it.. Mastromarino's company, Biomedical Tissue Services, reportedly sold parts to about 10,000 unsuspecting patients. Search Employees; Job Salaries; Search by Employer. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Barbara Mastromarino's picture-perfect life with her dental surgeon husband Michael Mastromarino and two kids crumbled to dust when she learned of her husband's ghastly illegal activities . Privacy Policy and . The phone number (860) 659-0601 is also used by Lisa N Meadows, Anthony Mastromarino, Jane Mastromarino Is Brian Cox Allowed to Be Saying All This? He kept saying, Theres a bigger fish here. Now, however, the dead are in demand like never before. He and his assistants would then harvest the corpse for tissue, bones, tendon, etc. (Photo courtesy of Barbra Reifel), HOMICIDE HUNTER STAR LT. JOE KENDA REVEALS THE ONE CASE THAT HAUNTS HIM THE MOST. Is the body moved? He had a syringe in his arm., After Michael lost his license to practice dentistry, he set up a tissue harvesting firm. Others worried that their dearly departed had been butchered, and the general public was generally creeped out, if only from the sudden awareness of what happens to the dead behind closed doors. Its still too early to assess the effect of the scandal on supply, says Rigney, but the AATB is extremely concerned. He thinks potential donors understand that something like this has never happened before, but how he himself knows that, he cant say. According to the outlet, Mastromarino boasted he made more than a million dollars a year. Michael Mastro is North America's leading expert of Vastu for over 40 years and has used Vastu for his clients worldwide to align their home and workspaces. ), THE INTERROGATOR STAR ON WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE A CRIMINAL CRUMBLE: 'YOU WANT TO GET TO THE TRUTH'. Then as the work began piling up, Mastromarino sent out word through the medical community that he needed another harvester. It was just a total lack of respect for the neighborhood, for the families, for the deceased, she says. You know, until he wasnt., The fall started with a backache and a little Demerol. That day began for me an absolute nightmare. After confronting his father about the reasons for his crimes while Dr. Mastromarino was incarcerated at Rikers Island, their older son subsequently refused to speak to his father. Cardiac arrest had killed Henry a few months before. Join the newsletter to get updates monthly straight to your email, and win one of 10 free books. . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. In the morning, the anonymous neighbor would wake to find plastic garbage bags on the sidewalk, and cats or whatever animals had gotten into it and dragged out surgical gloves, aprons, bloodied cotton swabs. Market data provided by Factset. "And no one talks about, you know, the gorilla in the room," he said. However, his drug addiction led to losing his medical license. [16][17] Although a recent judicial ruling has increased the difficulty of patients in proving pain and suffering from receiving bad donor tissue in cases like these, Pfaff's lawsuit is still[when?] According to the authorities, Michael had contacts with multiple funeral homes and would pay them about $1000 per body. He'd filled up the house with his big personality, and suddenly, the house felt very big and empty. A prominent oral surgeon embarks on a new career path after an addiction to painkillers leads to the loss of his dental license.Prelude: A horrifying discove. Those who suffered from a multi-million dollar tissue harvesting scam were given the opportunity last week to pick apart the criminal mastermind behind the plot as 44-year-old Michael Mastromarino was sentenced to 18 to 54 years in prison. It would have given him the shivers. Cruceta was making $185,000 a year. Cooke died of cancer in 2004. Three of them hung their heads low when passing the cameras, but the fourth, Michael Mastromarino, was a tall, somber figure in a black overcoat who stared directly into the lens, smacking gum. But Mastromarino didn't get a family's permission. A beware of dog sign adorns the window; when I knock, a middle-aged woman appears behind the glass. Mastromarino died Sunday at a hospital in New York. In some cases, he took tissue that should have been rejected from people who'd died of AIDS or cancer then made up documents to show a more benign cause of death. Barbra Mastromarino acknowledged ignoring warning signs about the character of her ex-husband early in their relationship. "It seemed like a good life," she says. Mastromarino was once a prosperous maxillofacial surgeon, with offices in New Jersey and midtown Manhattan. Found the resolution to each, I know who really killed Chanin, her husband did not, I have so many questions about this story. Thats the way I saw it. He further lied by failing to cite when the deceased had died from AIDS or cancer; instead, he would state a different cause of death on the paperwork, which would allow the use of the tissue. Federal Agency State County City University & College School Other. Another man both HIV and hepatitis C. Ironically, Mastromarino himself died after suffering from bone cancer. In 2008, Michael pleaded guilty to various charges that included enterprise corruption, reckless endangerment, corpse abuse, and body stealing. ", CHRISTIAN ANDREACCHIOS MOTHER CLAIMS SON WARNED HER TO COME LOOKING BEFORE HIS DEATH: PODCAST, Barbra and Michael were nicknamed "Ken and Barbie" by their loved ones. This is where the story of a bottom-feeder really begins: at the bottom. "I came upon flashing lights, and I saw Michael standing there with a policeman on each side of him," she says. (800) 948-6453. Collections; . His mother Christina and father Peter, and two brothers John and Arthur. At least one woman developed syphilis after receiving a bone from BTS. Screen Shot 2013-07-08 at 4.30.52 PM.png. Mastromarinos brick house is grand for suburbia, though with the letter M writ large upon the welcome mat and the Lincoln and the Escalade crowded into the oval driveway, not perhaps as grand as he would like. At the time, his former wife Barbra expressed relief that he no longer posed a danger to her, her children, or society. If You Cant Trust Your Own Doctor, Who Can YouTrust? After his death while in prison, Barbra said, Personally, it was a moment of relief for me. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Looking back, Julie says the shocking discovery she made that day helped her learn to depend on herself. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Throughout the entire time, I had a belief that he couldnt have been guilty of it all., I mean, by the grace of God, he made it back, Reifel continued. Most of the work in the beginning was at Joe Nicellis place in Bensonhurst, an imposing gray, windowless box called the Daniel George & Son Funeral Home. January 13, 2020, 3:26 PM Barbra Reifel, the ex-wife of Michael Mastromarino, details how the late doctor illegally harvested corpses in doc. "What was done to our father cannot be undone," she says. Stay strong, she said. Before starting a $4.6 million enterprise that plundered tissue and bone from people who never gave a consent, Mastromarino was working as a dental surgeon. He appeared just somewhat lost and like he was not feeling well, profusely sweating.. In 2008, Mastromarino pleaded guilty to enterprise corruption, reckless endangerment, and body stealing. Kittredge remains astounded that at no point in the chain did anyone ever make the phone call to her that would have revealed the forgeries. Mastromarino had become a secret drug addict, and he had cheated on Barbra. Dr. Michael Mastromarino died Sunday after battling liver and bone cancer. Hearts and livers and kidneys receive the most attention because they save lives, but the same technology that has allowed for their transfer has also enabled the far more common transplant of tissue. Under federal regulatory guidelines for the proper care and management of donated human tissue, firms are required to "screen and test donors for relevant communicable disease agents and diseases and to ensure that HCT/Ps (Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-based Products) are processed in a way that prevents communicable disease contamination and cross-contamination. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The firm would replace bones harvested off with PVC pipes, as seen when some of the bodies under question were exhumed by the authorities. On the morning of July 7, 2013, Michael Mastromarino died at St. Luke's Hospital after suffering from bone cancer. On July 7, 2013, the 49-year-old died because of complications resulting from metastatic liver cancer and bone cancer. He would have been just horrified. Mastromarino pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges of enterprise corruption, body stealing and reckless endangerment. But I thought it was entirely legal. When times were good, Karen says it wasn't unusual for her to spend $100,000 a month or more on credit cards. Its nice to hear his voice again, remember him when he was whole and vital. Login or Sign-up to show all important data, death records and obituaries absolutely for free! Reifel said she first learned her husband had a drug problem between 1999 and 2000 when his office called me and told me that he was passed out on the floor, with a syringe in his arm, Oprah.comreported. The best Instagram photos from 2014, After IVF shock, mom gives birth to two sets of identical twins, Inside North Korea: Water park, sacred birth site and some minders, Three women were devastated by their husband's ugly secrets, Barbra's husband did drugs, had affairs and went to prison for selling body parts, Months after he died, Julie Metz found out about her husband's multiple affairs, Karen Weinreb ignored signs of his cheating until husband imprisoned for swindling. Even Cruceta, in his attempt to defend himself, abandoned the doctor, claiming to be just the brawn to Mastromarinos brains, an unwitting pawn in the alleged grave-robbing ring. Michael Mastromarino married Barbra Reifel in May 1992. Reifel is the subject of Investigation Discovery's 'Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?' The BTS scandal became international news after it was determined that the remains of the deceased broadcaster Alistair Cooke, were among those that had been violated and sold in New York. Before long, the entire building knew of Mastromarinos drug use, said one witness. Thats basically how they put it. [3], In late 2005, the New York City Police Department investigated Michael Mastromarino and his company BTS for allegedly selling stolen human body parts. TM & 2011 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Shared by Michael Mastromarino Join now to see all activity Experience State University of New York Maritime College 15 years 3 months Chief Information Officer/Director of IT May 2021 - Present1. Mastromarino pleaded guilty to "body stealing." In 2008, he was sentenced to up to 58 years in prison. Mastromarino was supposed to ask family members for permission to take and sell tissue, but instead, the twisted individual just paid undertakers $1,000 to let him know when they had a corpse. He did not appear at a pretrial hearing in Philadelphia on Friday, but defense lawyer Charles A. Peruto Jr.. When Barbra met her future husband, Michael Mastromarino, she says she fell deeply in love with him and thought of him as her soul mate. In his final public broadcastLetter From America, No. [11], BTS was not an accredited member, nor did the company ever apply to be a member, of the American Association of Tissue Banks. MARY STAUFFERS HORRIFIC 1980 KIDNAPPING INSPIRES NEW FILM 'ABDUCTED': 'AFTER TRAGEDY THERE IS HOPE', Dr. Michael Mastromarino leaves the Supreme Court. In April 2003, Robert Ambrosino murdered his ex-fiance -- a 22-year-old aspiring actress -- by shooting her in the face with a .45-caliber pistol. So many people have come to me [over the years] and said, Barbra, I dont even know if I could do what you did. he wanted to know. He and Reifel agreed to pat $4.6 million to the district attorneys office, which would be distributed among the victims relatives.