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Stolen Metal Cremation Remnants Back At Cemetery

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By DANIELA VELÁZQUEZ | TBO.com

Published: March 27, 2008

TAMPA - Almost a ton of metal cremation remnants snatched from a St. Petersburg cemetery vault has been returned to its rightful place, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The metal, including parts from hip and shoulder replacements, was sold in Tampa to Fortune Plastics and Metal, 8751 Maislin Drive. It was taken from two vaults at Memorial Park Cemetery, 5750 49th St. N., on Jan. 26, deputies said.

Jack McWilliams, 19, and Vincent Paul Marlyne, 42, both of St. Petersburg, are accused of breaking in to the buried, unmarked vaults, which were filled with titanium and other metal from funeral homes. It came from people who had been cremated.

McWilliams is a former employee of the cemetery.

Richard Gates, owner of Fortune Plastics and Metal, saw reports of McWilliams and Marlyne's arrests in February and contacted the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Marlyne told Gates he was cleaning up a Pinellas County construction site as a contractor and found the metal in boxes, deputies said.

Gates told deputies he bought the mix of cobalt, titanium and stainless steel from the two for $5,416 and then sold it to a recycling company in Mobile, Ala. The parts then were shipped to Pennsylvania for recycling.

Gates called the companies and paid to have the metal shipped back to Pinellas County. It was reinterred at Memorial Park Cemetery this week.

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