NYC- Two people who got bone and tissue transplants from corpses illicitly harvested by a ghoulish body-snatching ring have tested positive for hepatitis, a New Jersey law firm has charged.
A third person, an unidentified man in his 70s, has tested positive for syphilis under the same circumstances, lawyers said yesterday.
The three cases are the first reported incidents of disease linked to stolen body parts, including bone, skin and cardiac valves, allegedly sold through a ring led by Michael Mastromarino.
Hundreds of people are being tested throughout the United States and Canada because the Food and Drug Administration said body parts sold by the ring may be contaminated. Mastromarino's operations are under investigation by the Brooklyn district attorney's office.
"We're talking about some extremely ill people whose lives have been turned upside down for absolutely no reason," said attorney Andrew D'Arcy.
D'Arcy declined to name the victims, but said he would soon file lawsuits on their behalf.
All three victims discovered their illnesses after the FDA ordered a nationwide recall of body parts products originating from Mastromarino's company, Biomedical Tissue Services Ltd. of Fort Lee, N.J.
The recall and testing began after the Daily News disclosed the details of Mastromarino's business on Oct. 7.
FDA regulations prohibit use of diseased body parts for transplant. But Mastromarino allegedly ignored the federal rules.
The News revealed Thursday that the bones of celebrated "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke were allegedly stolen before he was cremated.
Cooke died March 30, 2004, of lung cancer that had spread to his bones. Biomedical Tissue Services allegedly harvested his bones for transplant purposes without permission.
Mastromarino's operation allegedly failed repeatedly to gain donor consent and forged papers detailing the medical condition of the deceased.
In Cooke's case, the allegedly forged papers said he was 85 years old when he died. He was 96. The papers also claimed he had died of a heart attack, not bone cancer.
D'Arcy's law firm has filed two lawsuits against Biomedical Tissue Services on behalf of two transplant recipients who have not fallen ill. The suits, which also name companies that sold body parts, allege the transplant material was not properly screened and fraudulently obtained.
Joseph Nicelli, an embalmer and partner in the Mastromarino operations, also was named as a defendant. His attorney declined comment.
