Philadelphia health commissioner resigns for disposal of MOVE bombing victims remains, mayor says

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia's top health official was compelled to resign Thursday after the city's mayor said he learned partial human remains from the 1985 bombing of the headquarters of a Black organization had been cremated and disposed of without notifying family members.

Mayor Jim Kenney said Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley decided to cremate and dispose of the remains of the MOVE bombing victims several years ago.

The announcement of Farley's ouster came on the 36th anniversary of the MOVE bombing by design, after Kenney consulted victims' family members. Among the 11 slain when police bombed the organization's headquarters, causing a fire that spread to more than 60 row homes, were five children.

In a statement released by the mayor's office, Farley said that in early 2017 he was told by the city's medical examiner, Dr. Sam Gulino, that a box had been found containing materials related to MOVE bombing victims' autopsies.

"In the box were bones and bone fragments, presumably from one or more of the victims," Farley said.

It is a standard procedure to retain specimens after an autopsy ends and the remains are turned over to the decedent's next-of-kin, Farley said.

"Believing that investigations related to the MOVE bombing had been completed more than 30 years earlier, and not wanting to cause more anguish for the families of the victims, I authorized Dr. Gulino to follow this procedure and dispose of the bones and bone fragments," Farley said.

The decision was his alone, and other top city officials were not consulted, he said.

After recent reports that local institutions had remains of MOVE bombing victims, Farley said he reconsidered his actions and notified higher-ups. Kenney said Farley told him about what occurred late Tuesday, took responsibility and resigned.

"I profoundly regret making this decision without consulting the family members of the victims and I extend my deepest apologies for the pain this will cause them," Farley wrote.

Kenney said Farley's decision lacked empathy. Gulino has also been put on leave pending an investigation, Kenney said.

"I had the opportunity to meet with members of the Africa family and apologize for the way this situation was handled, and for how the city has treated them for the last five decades," Kenney said in a statement. MOVE members took the surname Africa after the group's founder, John Africa.

"Had the story not leaked out, there would have been no apology," said Janine Africa whose son was killed in the bombing.

"The apology is not going to bring our family back, our kids back," added Carlos Africa.

Kenney later told reporters that he had a long and difficult meeting with victims' family members on Wednesday morning, and agreed to publicly disclose the matter on the bombing anniversary at their request.

Late Thursday, a crowd gathered at an intersection near the block where the bombing happened. Dressed all in white, MOVE members read a minute-by-minute account of the bombing and the confrontation that led up to it: Philadelphia police, attempting to serve warrants on four members and evict the rest of the Black back-to-nature group from its headquarters, bombed it, igniting fuel for a generator.

Some in attendance Thursday shouted "shame," and "grave robber."

Kenney said he informed family members about what officials did with the remains, which had been kept in a storage room. The volume of remains was unclear, and Kenney said he hoped to determine where and how they were disposed of.

The city has hired a law firm to investigate and has agreed to include lawyers for the victims' families in the process.

The following statement was just released by Mayor Kenney's office on Thursday:

Dr. Farley issued the following statement Thursday afternoon:

"In early 2017, I was informed by Medical Examiner Sam Gulino, M.D. that, among unclaimed personal effects of the deceased, a box was located containing materials related to autopsies of victims of the 1985 MOVE bombing. In the box were bones and bone fragments, presumably from one or more of the victims.

"The standard procedure for autopsies in the Medical Examiner's office is, before releasing remains to the next of kin, to retain certain specimens in case they are needed for subsequent investigations. After the investigations are complete, these specimens are disposed of, without notifying anyone. Believing that investigations related to the MOVE bombing had been completed more than 30 years earlier, and not wanting to cause more anguish for the families of the victims, I authorized Dr. Gulino to follow this procedure and dispose of the bones and bone fragments. I made this decision on my own, without notifying or consulting anyone in the Managing Director's office or the Mayor's office, and I take full responsibility for it.

"Amid recent reports about local institutions in possession of bones of the MOVE bombing victims, I have reconsidered my actions. I believe my decision was wrong and represented a terrible error in judgment. I have informed the Managing Director's office of these events and also announced my intention to resign my position as Health Commissioner of the City of Philadelphia.

"I profoundly regret making this decision without consulting the family members of the victims and I extend my deepest apologies for the pain this will cause them."