278 charges for "mortician" who allegedly kept bodies

BOSTON - A former Boston funeral director accused of questionable behavior, including allegations that he stashed a dozen bodies in a storage unit, is facing 278 charges, reports CBS Boston.

Prosecutors say 56-year-old Joseph O'Donnell took money from clients but then never buried the bodies and instead kept the decomposing corpses in a Weymouth, Mass. storage facility.

Prosecutors say O'Donnell didn't have a license despite handling more than 200 funerals and cremations. They also say he stole about $150,000 in funeral pre-payments, according to the station.

The 56-year-old ran O'Donnell and Mulry Funeral Home in Dorchester, but he lost his license back in 2008. In April, he was charged for allegedly working without a license and misusing more than $12,000 in pre-paid funeral fees. Then, in July, he found himself in trouble again when an investigation turned up 12 bodies at the Weymouth storage unit.

O'Donnell is also believed to have given many families ashes belonging to someone other than their loved ones, prosecutors say, according to the station.

Additionally, authorities say O'Donnell agreed to "pre-need contracts" with 31 people to put money in a trust for use when the client died. But when asked by police where the money was, he allegedly told them, "It's all gone."