The state has fined and permanently shut down a Brooklyn funeral home months after dozens of bodies were discovered decomposing in unrefrigerated rental trucks during the height of the pandemic. 

At least 50 bodies were found in April inside U-Haul trucks parked outside Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Services on Utica Avenue in Flatlands.

The state has now fined the business $68,000 and revoked its license.

NY1 spoke with the owner, Andrew Cleckley, who says the closure is unfair and he’s being made a scapegoat. 

He maintains he did not have human remains inside the trucks. He says another funeral home had a truck outside his business, but that business was not investigated. 

Cleckley also said five other funeral directors were operating out of his location and sharing his space.

The bodies were discovered when nearby residents began complaining about foul odors coming from the trucks.