Berks County man among 6 people charged for stealing, selling human remains
Jeremy Pauley, 41, from Bloomsburg was previously charged in the case as well.
SPRING TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A Berks County man is one of six people charged in an alleged trafficking ring for stealing and shipping human remains all over the United States.
Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, is accused of paying more than $37,000 to buy body parts stolen from a Harvard University morgue.
"It's creepy. It's really creepy," said Bill Nitka, Taylor's neighbor. "Now I know why all the FedEx trucks were running up and down the street. I thought somebody was getting their daily contact lenses."
READ | Harvard Medical School morgue manager, 4 others indicted in theft, sale of human remains
Prosecutors allege that the nationwide network centered around Cedric Lodge, who managed a morgue at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Investigators say from 2018 to 2022 Lodge stole "heads, brains, skin, bones, and other human remains," from cadavers donated for medical research.
Lodge was fired from the position on May 6.
Lodge, his wife and three other people have been indicted in the theft and sale of human body parts, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced Wednesday.
"The FBI asked for our assistance because a lot of the stolen product, the stolen body parts were being shipped in the US mail," said George Clark, the public information officer for the Philadelphia division of the US Postal Inspection Service.
Investigators say Lodge would allow Taylor to go to the morgue, pick what body parts he wanted, and have those remains either shipped to him or he would bring them back to Pennsylvania and resell them for profit.
In a 15-page indictment, investigators say Taylor sent payments over PayPal. One payment was titled "head number 7," and another was dubbed "brains."
Jeremy Pauley, 41, from Bloomsburg was previously charged in the case as well.
"It's unusual you know, unlike other stolen goods. Obviously, someone's been victimized here. The deceased person has been somewhat victimized and their family has been victimized," Clark.
Harvard released a statement calling the trafficking "an abhorrent betrayal." Meanwhile, the families of victims who donated their loved ones' bodies to science want answers.
"Who could do something like that, you know? What kind of person? No respect at all for the family. They need to pay," said Paula Peltonovich.
Her parents, Nick and Joan Pichowicz, of New Hampshire, donated their bodies to Harvard after they passed away. On Wednesday, Peltonovich learned her father's remains were part of the scheme.
Bodies donated to Harvard Medical School are used for education, teaching or research purposes, officials say. Once they are no longer needed, the cadavers are usually cremated and the ashes are returned to the donor's family or buried in a cemetery.
Action News reached out to Taylor's lawyer but he declined to comment.
The FBI and US Attorney's office are asking any other potential victims to contact their Victim and Witness Unit at USAPAM.Victim.Information@usdoj.gov or (717) 614-4249.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
