BRENTWOOD — Dr. Putnam Breed is “nothing but a common thief,” said Jane McCarthy prior to Breed’s Wednesday sentencing to six months in prison for convictions on charges related to his signing cremation certificates without viewing the bodies of the deceased. Breed’s sentence is for convictions on nine counts of fraudulent handling of recordable writings, three theft by deception charges and a count of theft by unauthorized taking — all class B felonies, said Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams.

Following Wednesday’s three-hour hearing, Superior Court Judge Tina Nadeau sentenced Breed to a year in state prison with six months suspended and ordered him to make $1,800 in restitution and pay a $4,000 fine.

He was not taken into custody because the judge also granted his motion to remain free on personal recognizance bail while he appeals his convictions. That process could take up to a year, noted the judge.

The charges are part of a larger scheme involving Seabrook’s Bayview Crematorium which was closed in 2005 after authorities found a body in a broken refrigerator and urns of unidentified ashes. The convictions hold the Hampton Falls surgeon accountable for collecting $50 for each of 1,900 cremation certificates he signed over 13 months, or a total of $95,000.

“Because of your crimes, you allowed the crimes committed at Bayview Crematorium to go on for a year,” McCarthy testified during the sentencing hearing. “You are a Judas and have sold your soul for a few pieces of silver. May you pay in this life and the next.”

McCarthy said her late husband, Jon McCarthy, was one of the victims and described him in court as “Bayview Crematorium tag #4162.”

Joy Cahill of Newburyport testified that her family will never know if their mother’s ashes are buried beside her father at Arlington National Cemetery because of Breed’s “dishonesty.”

“It sickens me that he never examined my mother’s body and he was paid,” she said. “He showed a heinous disrespect for the dead.”

“Easy money” was the motive and “no oversight” offered the opportunity, prosecutor and Deputy County Attorney Tom Reid told the court. By “post signing” certificates for bodies already cremated and collecting the cash, Breed exhibited “silly greed,” said Reid.

Following victims' statements, some of Breed’s family, friends and former medical colleagues described “Put” as generous, gifted and caring.

He was “not responsible for the atrocities of others,” said Breed’s attorney, Christopher Carter, and should not be held accountable for the actions of others.

Carter asked the court to consider all of the good Breed had done in 44 years of practicing medicine, most recently on staff at Newburyport’s Anna Jacques hospital.

Judge Nadeau said she considered Breed’s lack of criminal history and statements for the prosecution and defense while making her decision. The judge said she’s also learned in her years on the bench “that good, caring people commit crimes.”

Breed “facilitated the illegal practices of others,” said the judge, “and his conduct was inexcusable.”

Derek Wallace, the last surviving defendant in the case, is scheduled for trial in September.

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