The morgue that handles bodies no one else wants -- even the Boston Bomber

Stefan incessantly smokes a pipe as he talks about his business’s unique positioning and clientele. Amidst shots of a dank and cluttered embalming room, Lysol wipes, and the gritty surrounding neighborhood, Stefan explains the parlor’s reputation for serving the poor, catering to an ethnically and religiously diverse community, and, above all, tackling seemingly “impossible” situations. “We’ve had gangster funerals…We bury traitors, we bury mass murderers. In other words, we turn down nobody.” To subsidize this charitable spirit, Stefan reportedly has to host a funeral almost every day.

Advertisement

Weeks after Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed, his body remained unburied. Nobody wanted to deal with the corpse or the controversy that trailed it. The proprietors of the nearby Mercadante Funeral Home—the self-described “Four Seasons” of funeral parlors—explained that they probably wouldn’t have taken the body. The funeral home where Tsarnaev was originally sent quickly rejected the responsibility, with the owner expressing fear that protestors would “burn their building down.” Stefan, who has made a name for himself as a compassionate funeral director and option for people “who have no alternatives,” recalled following the aftermath of the Boston bombing with particular interest. “When I saw it on TV, I was sure that I’d be called to do it,” he remembered, adding that he knew the Muslim community well and “they know me. And I know the customs.”

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement