Lawyer: D.A. doubts 'cutter'

The chief "cutter" in the national body-parts scandal - in charge of removing the often-diseased tissue of 244 late Philadelphians - is trying to cooperate with authorities, but "they don't believe him," his attorney said last night.

About 2 p.m. yesterday, New York attorney George Vomvolakis said he and his client, Lee Cruceta, 34, of Monroe, N.Y., talked with Assistant District Attorney Bruce Sagel and detectives for two hours, before Cruceta was processed by police.

"We're still talking to the prosecutor and trying to cooperate, but they don't believe him," said Vomvolakis. "I've had two other sessions like this in the past. I was hoping that would prevent an arrest."

Vomvolakis described the conversations as "informational."

Cruceta surrendered shortly after his ex-boss, Michael Mastromarino, 44, of Fort Lee, N.J., the reputed ringleader of the body-parts scandal and the owner of the now-closed Biomedical Tissue Services, in Fort Lee.

In 2004, Mastromarino arranged to buy tissue from three Philadelphia funeral-home operators who supplied the 244 corpses - without survivors' consent - during an 18-month period, a grand jury found last Thursday. BTS paid the operators $245,995.

BTS then sold the tissue to five companies that processed it for hospitals, where surgeons unwittingly used it for implants.

Yesterday, Mastromarino appeared "resigned" to the charges, while Cruceta, described as BTS team leader of "cutters," looked "shook up" when each showed up separately to face charges, according to the DA's office.

Mastromarino's attorney, Mario Gallucci, did not return calls from the Daily News.

Both defendants were expected to be arraigned by early this morning on 1,725 charges each, including 244 counts each of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, forgery, tampering with public records and abuse of corpse, and four counts each of deceptive or fraudulent business practices.

The D.A.'s office plans to ask for $5 million bail each.

Tomorrow, the three funeral home operators - brothers Louis Garzone, 65, of Kensington, and Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales, Montgomery County, and James McCafferty, 37, of Mayfair, - are to appear at a status hearing at the Criminal Justice Center.

Mastromarino and Cruceta are to appear at a status hearing between Oct. 14-16.

Vomvolakis, who is representing Cruceta pro bono in New York, said "The men who profited significantly are out on bail, but the lowest guy is going to be in jail because he can't afford bail.

"If [Cruceta] can't get out on bail, he'll lose his job, and his wife and four children will have to go on public assistance," he added.

Cruceta would seek a court-appointed attorney here with whom Vomvolakis said he planned to work closely.

"My client is dejected at the possibility of facing a long prison term," he added. "If he has to, he'll fight the charges."

Cruceta's parents put up their Long Island home for his $500,000 bail in a related Brooklyn case. Mastromarino is out on $1.5 million bail in that case. Both go on trial in Brooklyn on Jan. 15.

Last week, the D.A.'s office asked for $5 million for each of the funeral-home operators.

The Garzone brothers were released on $1 million bail each, after posting $100,000 in cash. And McCafferty, who works James A. McCafferty Funeral Home, owned by his mother, was released on $500,000 bail.

Also charged as defendants were the Kensington-based Garzone Funeral Home, Inc., owned by the brothers, and Liberty Cremation, of Kensington, owned by the brothers and McCafferty.

The three operators are accused of allegedly diverting bodies from Liberty Cremation, on Ruth Street near Somerset, to the Garzone Funeral Home, just around the corner on Somerset.

The corpses lay on gurneys in Garzone's dirty alley for up to four days for BTS' cutters to remove their tissue.

Two cutters testified before the grand jury that they removed tissue from bodies in Garzone's filthy embalming room using unsanitary procedures. *