NEW YORK (WPIX) — Police on Tuesday arrested two former employees of the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office on allegations they stole credit cards from multiple bodies in the city’s custody and charged thousands in unauthorized purchases, according to officials.
Charles McFadgen, of the Bronx, and Willie Garcon, of Brooklyn, were taken into custody after two criminal complaints were unsealed Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Mark Lesko said in a press release.
“The defendants…had a solemn duty to care for the bodies of the deceased and treat their personal effects with the utmost respect,” Lesko said in a statement. “Instead, the defendants brazenly pilfered the belongings of the deceased, stole their property and enriched themselves by making unauthorized purchases.”
According to the first complaint, Garcon, 50, was employed as a forensic mortuary technician from May 2018 to July 2020, during which time his duties included transporting bodies from the location of their death to the medical examiner’s office. During this time he was also working for the Burlington County Medical Examiner in New Jersey, the complaint said.