A Pennsylvania man is accused of stealing $350,000 worth of human skin from a Philadelphia hospital.
Gary Dudek, 54, was arrested Tuesday and charged with theft and tampering with records for a series of stolen skin grafts, according to police.
Between September 2006 and September 2013, Dudek worked as a sales representative for Organogenesis, a regenerative medicine company. His responsibilities included managing accounts for Mercy Philadelphia Hospital's bio-science department and supplying the hospital with skin grafts, according to police.
Due to his position, Dudek had an “open purchase order” which allowed him to order the skin grafts whenever he wanted. However, police say Dudek made several unauthorized purchases, and Mercy never received the grafts, leading the hospital to lose an estimated $357,000.
Officials also say Dudek was captured twice on surveillance video taking the skin grafts from the hospital and putting them in his car.
The missing skin grafts were discovered in January of this year when officials at Mercy conducted an audit of their finances.
Investigators said that from November 2011 through July, Dudek ordered more than 200 grafts, valued at $1,700 each, without authorization, according to the Associated Press. The hospital only needs a few grafts at a time, authorities said.
Police said that a motive is unclear, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. It is also unclear what Dudek allegedly did with the skin grafts.
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