The manager of the mortuary at Harvard Medical School, Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods charges, namely human body parts.
Also charged were Denise Lodge, age 63, of Goffstown, New Hampshire; Katrina Maclean, age 44, of Salem, Massachusetts; Joshua Taylor, age 46, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, and Mathew Lampi, age 52, of East Bethel, Minnesota, were indicted.
Additionally, Jeremy Pauley, age 41, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, who has been in trouble with the law regarding stolen body parts, was charged with Criminal Information.
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According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictments and information alleged that a nationwide network of individuals bought and sold human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.
The charges allege that from 2018 through 2022, Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, located in Boston, Massachusetts, stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations.
Lodge sometimes transported stolen remains from Boston to his residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold the remains to Katrina Maclean, Joshua Taylor, and others, making arrangements via cellular telephone and social media websites. Cedric Lodge sometimes allowed Maclean and Taylor to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase.
On some occasions, Taylor transported stolen remains back to Pennsylvania. On other occasions, the Lodges shipped stolen remains to Taylor and others out of state.
Maclean and Taylor resold the stolen remains for profit, including to Jeremy Pauley in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Jeremy Pauley also purchased stolen human remains from Candace Chapman Scott, who stole remains from her employer, a Little Rock, Arkansas mortuary and crematorium.
Scott stole parts of cadavers she was supposed to have cremated, many of which had been donated to and used for research and educational purposes by an area medical school, as well as the corpses of two stillborn babies who were supposed to be cremated and returned as cremains to their families.
Video shows morgue manager Cedric Lodge arrested at his New Hampshire home this morning; he and his wife were both taken into custody. @NBC10Boston https://t.co/9LMtsnhTrd pic.twitter.com/cnPRSYor67
— Michael Rosenfield NBC10 Boston (@MikeRNBCBoston) June 15, 2023
"An abhorrent betrayal."
That's how the dean of Harvard Medical School describes the allegations against the former morgue manager.
Cedric Lodge is charged with the unlawful interstate transport of stolen human remains from 2018 through about August 16, 2022. pic.twitter.com/cZfO0MgbHA— Bianca Beltrán (@BiancaNBCBoston) June 14, 2023
Scott sold the stolen remains to Pauley and shipped them to Pauley in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Pauley sold many of the stolen remains he purchased to other individuals, including Matthew Lampi. Lampi and Pauley bought and sold from each other over an extended period and exchanged over $100,000 in online payments.
“Some crimes defy understanding,” said United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam. “The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human. It is particularly egregious that so many of the victims here volunteered to allow their remains to be used to educate medical professionals and advance the interests of science and healing. For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling. With these charges, we are seeking to secure some measure of justice for all these victims.
Harvard Medical School addressed the Indictment.
“We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus – a community dedicated to healing and serving others,” the statement read. “The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS and, most importantly, each of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to HMS through the Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research.”
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“The defendants violated the trust of the deceased and their families all in the name of greed,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire. “While today’s charges cannot undo the unfathomable pain this heinous crime has caused, the FBI will continue to work tirelessly to see that justice is served.”
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 15 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. The Judge imposes a sentence following a guilty finding after considering the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
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