2 Had Permission to Take Dental Gold From Corpses, Attorney Says

Two Pasadena men arrested on suspicion of stealing dental gold from corpses had written permission from relatives of the deceased to take gold and tissue from bodies but “did not exercise their authority to do so,” their attorney said Monday.

Jerry W. Sconce, 54, owner of Lamb Funeral Home in Pasadena, and his son, David W. Sconce, 31, operator of Oscar Ceramics in Hesperia, were arrested Thursday after county sheriff’s investigators discovered dental gold in containers at both of those businesses, San Bernardino County Sheriff Floyd Tidwell said Monday.

The arrests occurred during investigations into reports that David Sconce operated an unlicensed crematory at the Hesperia ceramics plant. David Sconce operated Coastal Cremations in Altadena--also known as Pasadena Crematorium--which burned down Nov. 23. Authorities suspect that he transferred the crematory to Hesperia without proper licensing.

The Sconces were unavailable for comment. Their attorney, Roger Diamond, said the crematory used release forms that allowed Coastal Cremations to take gold from corpses. Diamond said the forms also granted the crematory permission to give tissue to another business operated by David Sconce, Coastal International Eye & Tissue Bank.

“The releases indicate that if anything was removed, it was done with approval, which means no crime was committed,” Diamond said. “I have no information that anything was taken.”

Tidwell said the use of such release forms “will obviously be part of our investigation because we arrested them for stealing gold from people’s teeth.”

Meanwhile, Tidwell said another man, John Daniel Pollerama, 27, a former employee of Oscar Ceramics, was arrested Sunday in Hesperia on suspicion of illegally discharging hazardous materials at the plant--in this case, a sludge composed of body fluids mixed with diesel fuel.

Pollerama was released on bail Monday. None of the men has been formally charged, authorities said.