March 8, 2008

Boy Wanders Away at Funeral, Falls into Pond and Dies

SAN JOSE - A 2-year-old boy who wandered away from his family during the funeral for his great-grandfather died March 1 as a result of falling into a shallow pond at Oak Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Park and being submerged underwater.

On Feb. 26, dozens of relatives gathered at the funeral home to celebrate the life of family patriarch, Eusebio Agutos.

Later that afternoon, family members began looking for Aizik Buno, the 2 year old who had apparently wandered off. They found him minutes later in about 18 inches of still water, the Mercury News reported. read more...

Bayview Crematorium Operator Sentenced to Prison

BRENTWOOD, N.H. - A defiant Derek Wallace, the founder of the now defunct Bayview Crematorium, told about a half dozen of his customers that they need not worry they received the wrong remains before he was led away to begin serving 1 ½ to 3 years in jail on tax evasion charges.

Wallace was sentenced Feb. 28 at a Superior Court hearing, The Newburyport News reported.

"There is no evidence or speculation that you haven't received the proper remains," Wallace told former customers in court. read more...

Judge Upholds Plea Deal in Body Harvesting Scandal

NEW YORK CITY - The Brooklyn District Attorney's office, which made a deal with Michael Mastromarino, the central figure in a body parts scandal, has been ordered to abide by a plea bargain it made with the defendant, Newsday reported.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Albert Tomei said the plea deal must stand, especially considering that Mastromarino has cooperated with prosecutors as he promised.

Under the deal that prosecutors set up in early February, Mastromarino was told he'd receive a prison term of 18 years to 54 years if he cooperated. The former oral surgeon from New Jersey was the owner of Biomedical Tissue Services. He was indicted in February 2006 and charged with leading a ring that illegally harvested bones and tissues from cadavers from the New York Metropolitan area. Body parts were then sold to tissue processors for thousands of dollars. read more...

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