Ex-Coroner Stole From Dead People: Authorities

One apparent "perk" of being a coroner: If someone dies without any apparent family members, you can steal from them. But Grover Tuten got caught doing just that, causing him to resign as Georgia's Richmond County coroner and be sentenced today to three years in prison. Tuten, who had worked in the coroner's office for 26 years, was accused of using a bank card to withdraw money from a dead man's account in 2012; he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of unauthorized use of an access device and was also ordered to pay $9,800 in restitution, the Augusta Chronicle reports.

As WJBF reported in July, a whistleblower—a former deputy in the coroner's office—alerted the FBI to Tuten's alleged illegal activities. A joint federal and state investigation ensued, leading to Tuten's arrest in 2013, the Chronicle reported in May. As the paper noted then, the state charges against Tuten appeared to accuse him of stealing from multiple deceased people. Tuten still faces the state charges of theft and violation of his oath of office. (More weird crimes stories.)