Convicted doctor wants verdict tossed

BRENTWOOD, N.H. – A former Massachusetts medical examiner convicted of signing cremation certificates for Bayview Crematory without first viewing the bodies has asked a judge to throw out the jury verdict and grant him a new trial.

Putnam Breed, 68, of Hampton Falls was convicted last month on nine counts of fraudulent handling of official documents and four counts of theft. Prosecutors said he was paid $35 apiece to sign thousands of cremation certificates for Bayview.

The crematorium, which handled up to 2,000 bodies a year from funeral homes in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, had been operating for six years without registering with or being inspected by the state. It was shut down in a raid in February 2005 after investigators found unidentified remains and a body in a broken cooler.

Breed also was convicted of collecting cremation certificate fees from Massachusetts, even though the cremations took place in New Hampshire, where he was not licensed as a medical examiner.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 23, when Breed faces 31/2 to seven years in prison.

On Jan. 23, Breed’s lawyer filed a motion asking a judge to set aside the verdicts, saying it was improper for all 13 charges to be tried together, because they involved separate incidents. Lawyer Philip Utter also argued the documents law under which Breed was convicted only applies to wills, deeds and mortgages.