Grave robbers stole caskets and remains from a family's mausoleum at the Italian Cemetery in Ybor City.
Tampa police said it happened sometime between Veteran's Day and Wednesday night.
Someone visiting the cemetery noticed the lock on the Spicola family mausoleum had been broken.
When authorities arrived, they found one coffin disturbed and two others missing.
"The family is devastated. Think about this, if it was your family and stole the casket from the cemetery," said John Centinaro, Italian Club Cemetery President.
Charles Spicola, Jr. said the remains belonged to his great-grandfather, grandmother and aunt.
"When I got there and saw, it, that was when it hit me hard. It was a very ugly site," he said.
Spicola, Jr. is a former Tampa City Council member and is founder of the Tampa Rough Riders. He said his grandparents established Spicola Hardware in Ybor City and relatives also include a former circuit judge in Hillsborough County and a former state attorney.
He has no idea why anyone would do something like this.
"People who remove body parts, skeletal remains, we just don't know. Could be some type of religious ritual, gang initiation or they could have been looking for valuables. We just don't know," he said.
The cemetery does have a security system but authorities said the thieves managed to by-pass it.
"All I know is, it occurred. We just want them back so we can place them back where they belong so they can rest in peace, that's it," said Centinaro.
Spicola, Jr. said his family plans to fix the mausoleum and he has a message for the thieves.
"I would say that you're picking on the wrong people. Whatever it is, these people who do this kind of thing are unbelievable, perhaps un-humanlike and I would sure like to see them caught," he said.
Crimestoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest.