Lawsuit filed against Harvard, former morgue manager Cedric Lodge over stolen body parts
BOSTON - A class action lawsuit has been filed against Harvard University and the former manager of Harvard Medical School's morgue over stealing heads, brains skin and bones – and selling those body parts to collectors on the black market.
Prosecutors involved in the criminal case say Cedric Lodge, the former manager of the morgue, is accused of stealing body parts from cadavers donated to the medical school for research. Lodge, along with his wife are accused with selling the dissected remains to a Salem woman and two men in Pennsylvania. The civil suit mirrors the indictment and demands answers as to how this could have happened and why there was not enough oversight to prevent it. The suit also claims Harvard was negligent and failed to safeguard the precious gifts it was given. It also names Lodge as a defendant in the case.
Attorney Jonathan Sweet represents the families in the lawsuit and says they are traumatized. "It has been very unsettling for the affected families. We are still trying to ascertain the true scope of the affected group of people. We understand it's somewhere between 350 and 400 cadavers."
The suit seeks money damages and says the families continue to suffer severe emotional distress
John Bozek, the Tewksbury man filing the lawsuit, had his mother Adele Mazzone's body donated to Harvard Medical School when she died in 2019. In the lawsuit, he said her body was one of those "mishandled" by Lodge.
Several families have already spoken to WBZ TV, saying how shocked and disgusted they were to learn their loved ones' body parts were stolen and sold.
If anyone believes they or a family member may have been affected by the investigation, call (717) 614-4249 or email usapam-victim.information@usdoj.gov .