Man transporting dead body steals the person’s Louis Vuitton bag, NY officials say

A driver transporting a dead body was arrested after officials say he stole the person’s Louis Vuitton bag from their home and hid it in the car.

The man was caught after a co-worker discovered the designer bag stuffed inside a pillowcase on the floor of the car he drove for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), according to the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI).

Now the man, who has worked for the medical examiner’s office for more than a decade, is facing charges, the city’s Department of Investigation announced in a Nov. 15 news release.

The 49-year-old from Queens was charged in a criminal complaint with petit larceny and official misconduct on Oct. 26 after stealing the bag in August, officials say. Authorities announced the charges after he appeared in court for an arraignment on Nov. 15.

“OCME employees are trusted to handle difficult and sensitive work and their professionalism and integrity are of utmost importance,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said in a statement. “As charged, this City employee betrayed that trust when he used his access to a decedent’s home and personal belongings to steal a luxury bag.”

Attorney information for the employee was not specified in the release or immediately available.

On Aug. 9, he and a co-worker arrived at the deceased individual’s apartment where a NYPD officer was also inside, officials say. This officer’s body-worn camera recorded how the person’s Louis Vuitton bag was sitting in the kitchen before it disappeared.

At some point, the employee was temporarily alone in the apartment as he sealed the person’s body inside a bag, according to the DOI.

A day later, another OCME co-worker was cleaning the man’s work car where they found the Louis Vuitton bag containing a tag with the name of the person who died, the release says.

Since that day, the employee has been on “modified duty,” according to the release.

After appearing in court on Nov. 15, he was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on Jan. 10, officials say.

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.