WhistleBlowers Claim Bodies ‘Mutilated’ at local Morgue|YourFuneralGuyBlog

Morgue

There is a recent news story about Whistleblowers Claim Bodies ‘Mutilated’ at Local Morgue. the story comes from Seattle, Washington.

Insiders from the funeral industry and the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office say some bodies are being mutilated during autopsies.

An investigative report by KOMO news of Seattle Washington reveals a former high-level manager at the morgue saying assistants and trainees were often doing complex procedures that should be performed by a pathologist. As a result, arteries and blood vessels were often mangled causing major difficulties for embalmers. “When you can’t embalm the face properly then the face doesn’t look lifelike,” he said.

Funeral home sources tell KOMO that compensating for this type of damage takes so much time that families are being charged $3,000 to $5,000 dollars extra for the effort. And it’s a cost they have no idea they’re paying.

Funeral homes insist they’ve complained repeatedly but to date, no formal investigation has been launched by the Snohomish County council. Interestingly, since the KOMO report, several county officials have begun demanding action, calling for an outside, independent inquiry into the allegations.

Posted by Karen Jones, author of DEATH FOR BEGINNERS Your No-Nonsense, Money-Saving Guide to Planning for the Inevitable

via www.komonews.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your funeral Guy

Human Remains leaking in Airliner Cargo Hold|Your Funeral Guy

There is a local story of human remains leaking in  a Cargo Hold of A Southwest Airlines Jet Cargo Hold.  Funeral News often does not get reported and stories that are reported (like this one)do not make into the National News.

The offending party(Shipper of Human Remains) is not even named in the story. Now the funeral industry leaders often accuse the press of reporting on a few bad apples making their profession look bad. The opposite is true. The press(media) rarely reports on the many bad apple funeral directors.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is apologizing to some of it’s customers after an incident involving their bags and human remains.

Baggage handlers in Albuquerque, New Mexico were unloading the cargo bin of Flight 477 from Houston Thursday afternoon when they discovered blood had leaked from inside a shipping container with human remains.

In a statement Friday, the airline admits blood did get on some of the passenger luggage, but says it was a small amount of bags and that the passengers have ‘been compensated for the damage’ of their bags.

via cbs11tv.com

Funeral Industry| Funeral News

Agreenerfuneral.org is supporting Bio Cremation|YourFuneralGuy

A new website agreenerfuneral .org is supporting Bio Cremation The website. The Post is sponsored by a green casket company called Passages International. The website a greenerfuneral .org is  green funeral educational website that provides information on green funeral homes and products.

Here is a quote from there Website.

A new alternative to cremation is alkaline hydrolysis, also known as bio-cremation or water resolution. The body is placed in a special chamber where it is subjected to water, heat, pressure and potassium hydroxide. After a few hours all that remains are the bones and a liquid composed of amino acids, sugars and salts. The bones are then processed into a fine, white powder that can be buried or scattered. The liquid is non-toxic and may be disposed of in the earth or water.

via www.agreenerfuneral.org

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Batesville Casket Co. sponsoring Lunch for Corrupt Funeral Directors?|Your Funeral Guy

The Illinois Funeral Directors Association has appeared to survive to their next  convention in June  2010. The  Convention Brochure gives mention of the IFDA Preneed Trust new Trustee Fiduciary Partners.but not the ponzi scheme lawsuit.There is no mention  in their brochure of the status of the Trust, the lawsuits and the situation with regulators.

Batesville Casket Company seemingly does not care about the corruption charges, pending and the questionable dealings at the IFDA for it is sponsoring the lunch at  the  IFDA convention. Batesville continues to throw money at dying funeral entities like the Illinois Funeral Directors Association to keep itself in business.

In the Illinois Funeral Directors Association scandal over 40 million was lost before the Wall Street Crash of September 2008. The figure on monies lost is now 100 million dollars. Loans to board members were made out of the Good folks of Illinois  Funeral Money(IFDA Pre Need Trust) over the years.

Again at this convention the questionable  former IFDA president and former head of the Museum of Funeral Customs, NFDA (National Funeral Directors Association)treasurer Randal l Earl will be honored at the convention.

Time will tell but it does appear that the Illinois Funeral Directors Association good old boy network may have survived the IFDA Preneed Trust Scam.

Funeral industry\funeral news\funeral blog by your funeral guy

Source: IFDA

Your Funeral Guy Exclusive:Service Corporation International Trial Underway

There is a trial taking  place in LA  concerning the Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Scandal.  It is a hearing for a preliminary injunction against the cemetery. At this California Cemetery it has been reported that over 500 graves were desecrated. This scandal was first revealed in September 2009.

The trial dates are May 13th and May 14th 2010. Your Funeral Guy has confirmed that the trial is taking place.

Up to 500 Graves desecrated here

This scandal, involving the Service Corporation International, (NYSE:SCI) Facility at Eden Memorial Park in California along with the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal outside of Chicago led to Congressman Bobby Rush introducing the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009 in the US House of Representatives. The Bill HR 3655 is under consideration in the US Congress.

Eagan O’Malley & Avenatti LLP (“EOA”) is the law firm handling the class action Lawsuit.

The depositions completed thus far in this case have unfortunately confirmed our worst fears.  The evidence indicates there has been a pervasive practice of grave disturbances and desecrations at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery spanning an approximate 30 year time period.  A number of groundskeepers and supervisors have admitted under oath they routinely damaged and broke burial vaults containing human remains, sometimes as much as two to three times per week.  These groundskeepers and supervisors have further admitted that many times this would cause human remains, including bones, to spill out of the broken burial vaults.  According to the sworn testimony, the groundskeepers were often instructed by the cemetery to discard any remaining bones, pieces of burial shrouds or broken casket remnants in the cemetery dump located at the northern most section of the cemetery.

Because the practice was pervasive, the cemetery did not keep records of which burial vaults were broken.  Moreover, because the vaults are buried under ground, it is impossible to visually identify, from above the ground, which graves were disturbed.  There are, however, non-invasive procedures available to allow family members to identify broken vaults without disturbing the decedent’s grave and we are consulting with experts about the possible use of these procedures.

At our request, the Court has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing or “mini-trial,” on May 13 and 14, 2010

via www.edenclaims.com

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Fourth Player in Bio Cremation Machine Race|YourFuneral guy

There is a fourth player in the great Bio Cremation  Machine Race. The company’s name is Eco-Green Cremation System, Inc.

These folks call their process Natural Cremation. In the fall of 2009, Park Lawn Income Trust, owner of cemeteries and crematoriums in the greater Toronto Area signed on for machine installation.

Each company except for Cycledlife has their own name for the process. Matthews International Inc, calls it Bio -cremation, Or Resomation(R).

BioSAFE Engineering Calls it water resolution. Eco-Green Cremation System calls it Natural Cremation.

CycledLife prefers to keep the name for the process what it is, Alkaline hydrolysis.

That may be the best way to avoid consumer confusion for the new process.

To their credit, Eco-Green Cremation System, Inc. offers a complete Maintenance and Marketing Package with their machine.

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Lena Horne Funeral Details|YourFuneral Guy

Lena Horne’s Funeral  Service will be Friday, May 13th at St Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church In New York City(NYC). Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home is handling the Funeral arrangements.

Lena Horne’s funeral is to be held at a Roman Catholic church in New York City.

Celebrities, relatives and friends will gather Friday morning at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan to remember Horne. The singer and actress died Sunday at age 92.

via abcnews.go.com

These are the Lena Horne Funeral Arrangements made at this time.

Funeral industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Michigan Funeral Protest Law Traps Mourners|YourFuneralGuyBlog

Michigan Funeral Law Traps Protesters

Michigan funeral protest law traps mourners. Political signs in van land couple in jail after friend’s service

Lewis Lowden is suing Clare County Michigan and two of its sheriff’s deputies for violating their civil rights under Michigan’s 2006 funeral protest law.

In 2007 Lewis and Jean Lowden were pulled out of a funeral procession honoring a 25-year-old Army corporal killed in Iraq whom they had known for 15 years, had homeschooled and had taken camping and fishing. The reason? Having a few handmade signs critical of the Bush administration in their van window violated the Michigan funeral protest law. A search of the van revealed a hatchet, machete and two knives Lowden said he used for camping. The couple was jailed for carrying concealed weapons.

Former Clare County Prosecutor Norman Gage believes there’s a problem with Michigan’s law, hastily enacted in reaction to incendiary protests at military funerals by the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. ”I feel bad that the Lowdens had to go through this,” Gage said. “But sometimes, unfortunately, the laws aren’t well written, and this may well be a good example of a well-intentioned law that wasn’t well written.”

The problem appears to be a free speech issue. “We’re not questioning the benevolent intent of the law to protect mourners from being disrupted at funerals,” said American Civil Liberties Union Michigan lawyer Daniel Korobkin, who filed suit on the Lowdens’ behalf. “But history shows us — and this case shows — that efforts to silence even the most outrageous, repugnant, offensive and hateful speech always backfires and always ends up punishing the speech of innocent people like the Lowdens.”

Source:via freep.com

posted by Karen Jones, author of DEATH FOR BEGINNERS Your No-Nonsense, Money-Saving Guide to Planning for the Inevitable   www.deathforbeginners.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

via freep.com

WalMart, Amazon.com Selling caskets still has Funeral Homes Concerned-YourFuneralGuy

It has been over 6 months since WalMart has been selling caskets online and the Funeral Industry is still quite worried.

Costco and Amazon.com also have the  the industry worried. Some Funeral Homes are adjusting many are not.

The continued emphasis on Funeral personalization may not be enough to overcome the public’ss appetite for cremation in funeral arrangements.

24hourCasket.com

With Wal-Mart, Costco, even Amazon (through 24HourCaskets.com) now offering items such as caskets and funeral urns, the industry has had to adapt, placing an increased emphasis on service and personalization.

And a sector once considered sheltered if not immune from economic pressures hasn’t escaped the effects of the recession. Consumers are more cost-conscious, and death rates have been static. In fact, some studies show that death rates tend to decline during recessions; the National Funeral Directors Association says the rate fell to 7.9 per 1,000 population in 2009 compared with 8.1 in 2008.

via www.arkansasbusiness.com

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Tale of Two Bio Cremation Machines|YourFuneralGuy

Here is a tale of two Bio Cremation Machines in pictures, One is being promoted by Matthews International, another is being promoted by CycledLife. Interestingly the Mathews Machine is  priced at nearly  five times that of cycledlife.  The Cycledlife machine will undergo further testing and demontration in June. Although  Matthews International Bio Cremation Resomation Machine is going in St. Petersburg,Florida, not much has been revealed as to the specifics, other than the Anderson- McQueen  Funeral Home location.

Here  is a picture of the traditional Resomation Bio cremation Machine:

Here is a picture of the CycledLife Water Resolution Machine.

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog By Your Funeral Guy