Nurse ‘lead cutter’ in stolen body parts trade

A NURSE has admitted he cut body parts from 244 corpses and helped forge paperwork so the parts, some of them diseased, could be used in unsuspecting patients.

Authorities say nurse Lee Cruceta was the lead cutter in a group that trafficked in more than 1,000 stolen body parts for the lucrative transplant market.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, taking part in a corrupt organisation, abuse of a corpse and 244 counts each of theft and forgery.