A Cleveland ambulance driver has been sentenced to two years in state prison for stealing from the dead.
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Charles Slagle pleaded guilty to theft, admitting that in three cases where he transported dead bodies from their homes to the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office he found ATM cards and PIN numbers and used them to drain bank accounts.
Judge David Matia, in addition to ordering the prison term, said Slagle must repay the banks, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. The banks have already repaid most of the money to relatives of the victims.
"Basically, you looted the bodies of these individuals," Matia said. "You violated the sanctity of a corpse."
Slagle told the judge an addiction to alcohol and OxyContin contributed to his crimes. He reportedly stole $57,000 from the accounts of his victims.