/crime
NEW YORK (AP) -- The mastermind behind a ghoulish scheme that involved stealing hundreds of corpses and selling the parts for millions of dollars will spend 18 to 54 years in prison.
Michael Mastromarino, a former oral surgeon who owned Biomedical Tissue Services, received the sentence on Friday in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
Mastromarino has admitted running the macabre operation from 2001 to 2005. He pleaded guilty to charges of enterprise corruption, body stealing and reckless endangerment.
The bodies, including that of "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke, were carved up without permission and were not medically screened.
They were sold around the country for dental implants, knee and hip replacements, and other procedures. About 10,000 people received tissue supplied by BTS.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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