Lakewood Cemetery alleged theft spotlights market for metal implants left after cremation

Dec 08, 20230

Anthony Soufflé, Star Tribune count

Paul Maher of Cremation & Trade Services Inc., held out a metal knee replacement from a person who was cremated at his St. Paul facility. Maher collects all that doesn't burn and uses a recycler.

Timothy Flanigan ran the crematorium at Minneapolis' Lakewood Cemetery for years. He discovered that medical debris left after cremations - rife with valuable metals - could fetch cash in the recycling market. He netted $306,500 in such sales from 2016 to 2021.

Flanigan said he considered torched titanium joints and the like as trash, and Lakewood had no formal policy for its disposal.

But Lakewood regarded it as stolen property. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office agreed, and Flanigan is set to stand trial on theft by swindle charges in February.

https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-lakewood-cemetery-alleged-theft-market-for-metal-implants-left-after-cremation/600325204/