Burr Oak Cemetery to use Radar-Your Funeral Guy

Latest in the Butr Oak Cemetery Scandal

The Burr Oak Cemetery will begin to use Radar in locating grave spaces. This is an effort to find places where burials can take place at the Cemetery. It is hoped that this will expedite the reopening of Burr Oak Cemetery-

In July 2009 over 300 graves were desecrated at Burr Oak Cemetery causing state and federal investigations.Burials were halted over the summer after four cemetery employees were arrested and charged in a scheme to empty graves, dump the remains and re-sell the newly-emptied gravesites….

Until now, Burr Oak consultant Roman Szabelski, who also runs Catholic cemeteries in the Chicago archdiocese, says long sticks have been used to determine whether graves are empty or not.  That’s time-consuming.  So, he says, in the next several weeks, a Florida company is being brought in to use radar devices to determine where there are available graves.

via www.wbbm780.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Cemetery| Funeral Bill of Rights©-YourFuneralGuy

Cemetery and Funeral Bill of Rights© needs to pass Congress.

Congressman Bobby Rush has announced a Cemetery and Funeral Bill of Rights© in the proposed Bereaved Consumers Protection Act.

This is an effective response to the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal(near Chicago) discovered in July: Over Three hundred graves were desecrated.

In the Eden Memorial Park Scandal discovered in Mission Hills California last week over 500 graves were desecrated.

There has never been nationwide Cemetery Legislation and as of now there is generally no way to file a complaint against a cemetery to get resolution.

Today you can file a complaint against a funeral home and get resolution. This is done under the Funeral Rule.

There is no place to file a complaint for cemeteries.

This is why the legislation makes sense. The bad guys can be stopped,if the cemetery and funeral  bill of rights is enacted-proposed Bereaved Consumers Protection Act.

Snippet from NBCchicago.com

“Legislation being introduced by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush would establish a national bill of rights for consumers of cemetery and funeral home services.

The Chicago Democrat unveiled the Bereaved Consumers Protection Act during a news conference Monday.

The act would amend the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule. The rule prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the funeral operations industry.”

Cemetery|Funeral| Industry Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

Burr Oak Cemetery No Longer a Crime Scene-YourFuneralGuy

The latest news in the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal is that it is no longer a crime scene. This is according to the Cook County Sheriff’’s website. The cemetery has been turned over to the Court Receiver. “BURR OAK CEMETERY WILL NOT BE REOPENED AT THIS TIME”

There is enough evidence gathered for prosecution. The Sheriff sees no need to excavate the cemetery for months or years.

As mentioned in the previous post the recovered bones will not undergo DNA testing. The investigation will continue off site.

From the Press Page at the Cook County Sheriffs Website.

“The turning over of day-to-day operations to the receiver is a step towards allowing the cemetery to conduct normal business,” Dart said.  “I want to thank the public for their patience during the time we were forced to close the cemetery to process the crime scenes and ask for their continued patience while Mr. Szabelski continues to work towards re-opening Burr Oak.  I hope that everything that has been done will help ease the pain of those with loved ones buried here and allow them to finally have some closure in this matter.”

Community Members have come together to form the Chicago Burr Oak  Cemetery Historical Society. They are working together to find a fan appropriate memorial for the bones unearthed at Burr Oak Cemetery.

Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal|For some no answers-

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

Burr Oak cemetery pic from Dallas News.

Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal:FBI says bones|not to be DNA tested-YourFuneralGuy

There will Be No DNA testing on 1,100 discarded bones at Burr Oak cemetery

There will Be No DNA testing on 1,100 discarded bones at Burr Oak cemetery. The Chicago office of the FBI has stated that the bones recovered from Burr Oak Cemetery will not be tested.

This will come as a disappointment to many families would like to know whether or not there deceased relatives were among those who were dug up.The relatives of those desecrated are the victims.

We will never know the identities of many that were taken out of their graves. Approximately1,100 bones were recovered.

Assistant Special Agent Trautmann Director of the Chicago FBI office stated on August 7th 2009 :

“Even if we could’ve obtained the DNA profile from bones … then we have the problem of who we compare that to, not knowing who those bones belong to”

Cook County Sheriff Dart stated:

“For those individuals who are looking for every part of human remains that were disinterred to be recovered, that is not going to occur, it cannot occur,”

DNA testing on 1,100 Bones recovered in Burr Oak Grave Robbing Scandal is not to happen

Funeral industry Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy

You can get some help here: Cook County Sheriff’s website:www.burroak.net

Burr oak cemetery pic from religion dispatches.org

Source: The Huffington Post

Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal: Four Arrested Indicted-yourfuneralguy

On August 6th 2009  the four people arrested in the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal were indicted by the Cook County States Attorney. When they were arrested they were charged with dismemberment of a human body(class x felony).

At the Burr Oak Cemetery nearly 300 graves were disturbed and bones were piled up at different locations. Four people were arrested.

Other indictments are listed below that were returned by a grand jury.

two counts of theft

unlawful removal of grave stones

desecration of human remains

unlawful removal of deceased human beings from a burial ground.

conspiracy to remove human remains.

Funeral Industry |Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

wbbmnewsradio78 broadcast

Huffington Post

Indiana Funeral home|cemetery scam $24 million-yourfuneralguy

Indiana and Funeral home and cemetery scam yielded 24 million Dollars.

An Indiana Cemetery owner is to plead guilty to Fraud on Monday. His Cemetery and funeral scam covered six states: Hawaii, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Iowa and Tennessee. Only Indiana and Tennessee have prosecuted Mr.Nelms in his preneed trust fund schemes.

In the Indiana Scheme  Nelms and his wife siphoned away 24 million. His wife agreed to testify against him in return for immunity from  prosecution.

From the Indianapolis Business Journal:

“The couple bought the Indianapolis-based cemetery and funeral home business for $27 million in December 2004.

Within days, the couple allegedly drained all $24 million from their newly acquired company’s trust fund, which was supposed to be used to maintain grave sites in numerous cemeteries.”

One property involved is Forest Lawns Memory Gardens, cemetery and funeral home in Greenwood, Indiana. The company involved Memory Gardens Management Corp.

Funeral Industry | Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

Indiana  map Pic from Wikipedia

AS A CONSUMER AT A FUNERAL HOME OR CEMETERY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE SURE WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH.

Burr oak Cemetery Scandal:Preneed Contracts will have to be honored.-yourfuneralguy

Sometime in the future, burials will happen again at Burr Oak Cemetery.

Although the Burr Oak Cemetery is closed as a crime scene there will come a time that burials will have to continue. Preneed Contracts held by the cemetery will have to be honored. It does seem a little far off considering that the headstones visible at the cemetery are not all put up on the website.

So far there is no accounting of the desecrated graves at the  Cook County Sheriff’s website:www.burroak.net

Sheriff Dart has stated that it will  be several weeks before the listing of the headstones that are present at the cemetery will be complete.

At that time grave desecrations can be addressed that are not being handled  in lawsuits.

Another cemetery in Illinois has  had  had their licenses removed and closed have to conduct burials.This is Valley View Cemetery in Edwardsville,Illinois.  From thetelegraph.com

“They have a responsibility to the people they have sold these pre-need burial contracts, said Carol Knowles, a spokeswoman for the comptroller….burials have taken place with the volunteer help of former employees.
More burials are scheduled for the next few days.”

There is no word whether burials are being conducted at Burr Oak Cemetery now or in the future.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog By Your Funeral Guy

Burr oak cemetery pic from religion dispatches.org

Burr Oak Cemetery:2 other Illinois cemeteries licenses revoked-YourFuneralGuy

Burr Oak Cemetery is not the only Cemetery in Illinois to have it’s license revoked. It has happened at two other cemeteries in Illinois.  Mount Hope Cemetery in Bellvue, Il and Valley View Cemetery in Edwardsville, Illinois.

It had been reported(7.16.09) that the cemeteries were shut down. From www.bnd.com

“The comptroller’s office last year reported that more than $300,000 was missing from more than 450 prepaid burial accounts at the two cemeteries. People visiting those buried at the cemeteries have complained about overgrown grass and weeds and damaged headstones.”

The problem with revoking a Cemetery License like Burr Oak Cemetery in Illinois is that there are still burials to be made. Funerals need to happen in a timely fashion.  When a Funeral Home license is revoked the Funeral Home is closed. But when a cemetery license is revoked preneed contracts  are no longer sold   at that cemetery in Illinois.

The preneed contracts on the books  have to be honored. Burials will need to continue at Burr Oak, Mount Hope, and Valley View Cemetery.

A hearing is set for AUG 4th, 2009 By the Illinois Comptroller  to show cause for revocation of license.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

Source

Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal|Searchable Website link-yourfuneralguy

The Cook County Sheriff has announced a searchable website for Headstones at Burr Oak Cemetery

The Cook  County Sheriff has announced that there is a searchable  website(url) available for victims of the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal. This is a beginning to helping families with their grief.

This is a start to helping families with their grief. Right now there is a limited list of headstones to be searched. Families can begin searching for there loved ones without making a trip to the cemetery. Families can go there now and search pictures of headstones, and look for grave locations.

Here is the link URL:www.burroak.net,

The Cook County Sheriff needs to be complemented for making this available quickly.

Snippet from www.nbcchicago.com

“The new site, www.burroak.net, launched with a partial list of the headstones affected. The department hopes to have a completed list of headstones within two weeks. Once completed, the site will also include an option to notify a detective if a headstone is missing.”

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Historical Casket At AA Rayner and Son-YourFuneralguy

The historical Emmet Till Casket is at the AA Rayner & Son Funeral Home in Chicago. This is where the civil rights, martyrs casket is now located. There the casket will be restored and moved to a new location.

The family chose this funeral home partially because that is where the slain teenager lied in state after he was murdered in 1955.

The current owners of Burr oak cemetery were the casket was left to rot are directly responsible for this act of disrespect to the black community. The corporation is Perpetua Inc.

Charles Childs Jr is the co owner of the Funeral Home AA Rayner and Son.

The fact that his funeral home holds this historical relic should not bring Mr. Childs immunity from investigation in the IFDA Preneed Trust Ponzi Scheme. (see previous post).

Charles Childs Jr, was president of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association Trust Fund tanked in 2006 and 2007.

Reports now are that the fund, has now lost 100 million dollars.

Funeral Industry|FuneralBlog by YourFuneralGuy.

ponzi tidbits graphic from Ponzi Website.

Emmit Till

From Source Wikepedia

“In July 2009, while his gravesite appeared undisturbed, his original casket, in which his battered body was famously displayed, was found rusting in a run-down shack on the [Burr Oak]cemetery grounds.”

Born	Emmett Louis Till July 25, 1941(1941-07-25) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 28, 1955 (aged 14) Money, Mississippi, U.S.