BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) – A former crematorium worker pleaded guilty on Friday to doctoring death records in a cremation scam spanning two states.

James Fuller was accused of creating fake cremation certificates while he worked at Bayview Crematorium in Seabrook, which as operated by Massachusetts funeral director Derek Wallace. By doing so, prosecutors said Fuller, of Seabrook, cremated bodies without first getting approval from medical examiners, a legal requirement in New Hampshire.

Friday’s plea deal means Fuller, who handled cremations, will spend no more than a year in county jail. Fuller was indicted on more than a dozen charges of creating false cremation paperwork in the months following the February 2005 raid of Bayview. He faced 20 years in prison if convicted at trial. He will be sentenced in May.

Authorities have charged Wallace, of Salisbury, Mass., with multiple counts of theft by deception and mishandling a corpse. They say he took money for cremations he knew were illegal and allowed cremations to take place without getting proper paperwork. His trial is scheduled to begin April 3.

Besides Bayview, Wallace operated Hart-Wallace Funeral Home in Lawrence, and Simplicity Burial & Cremation in Salisbury, which have since closed. Investigators believe Wallace plotted with his mother and stepfather to funnel customers to illegal cremations in New Hampshire.

A third man, Putnam Breed of Hampton Falls, also was indicted last year on charges of fraudulent mishandling of documents. Investigators say Breed, a Massachusetts district medical examiner, signed off on cremations without viewing the bodies, and falsified cremation certificates.

During the raid on Bayview Crematorium, authorities found boxes of unidentified human ashes, a woman’s corpse in a broken refrigerator, heaps of medical waste and other grisly discoveries. They also discovered many records were missing or incomplete – leading them to suspect cremations had been performed improperly.

In New Hampshire, crematoriums do not need licenses to operate. But Bayview was not registered and had never been inspected. During the six years it was open, Bayview cremated 5,000 bodies. The scandal has prompted legislators to propose tough new rules for the facilities.

—

Information from: WMUR-TV, http://www.thewmurchannel.com/index.html