Harvard Scandal: Morgue Manager Admits to Trafficking Organs

After a series of failures, some related to the rising antisemitism among its institutions, Harvard University is once again in the headlines for negative reasons. Cedric Lodge, who has served as the morgue manager at the medical school for nearly three decades, confessed to running an 'enterprise' of trafficking organs from bodies donated for medical research.

The serious case revealed that at the prestigious and leading academy, where the next generation of doctors is trained, there was a systematic theft of body parts that were illegally sold on the black market, right under the noses of the oversight bodies.

Lodge, 57, was arrested about a year ago when suspicions against him intensified, but only this week was an indictment filed in Pennsylvania court. During the hearing, Lodge admitted that not only did he sell the organs, he also transported them across U.S. states, an act considered a serious federal offense that could carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

According to the indictment, Lodge allowed potential buyers, in certain cases, to enter the morgue to select the organs they wished to purchase. Among other parts, Lodge sold heads, brains, skin, and bones. Later, Lodge involved his wife, Denise, in the illegal enterprise, and she is also charged with trafficking human remains.

Lodge pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain submitted to the court in Pennsylvania. He is expected to serve a significant prison sentence, with his sentencing to be issued at a later date.