Cook County to file a lawsuit Against Burr Oak Scandal-yourfuneralguy

Cook County to File Lawsuit Against Owners of Burr Oak Cemetery

The Cook County Board voted  Tuesday night to file a lawsuit against the owners of Burr Oak Cemetery, Perpetua, Inc. The Cook County Sheriff, Mr.Dart has stated that he has used up over $350,000 of the county’s money and it certainly appears that he will need much more to bring the Burr Oak Tragedy under control.

The FBI has also state that they have not found one set of human remains that is complete. This is not just grizzly it is an incomprehensible horror. The country may not have the DNA testing facilities available to handle all those remains without a solid list of those interred there.

From the Huffington Post:

“”About $350,000 has been expended on the investigation,” Dart said at a news conference. “I can’t turn over county assets without receiving compensation.”

The sheriff described a chaotic situation in which headstones had been removed, some bodies may have been buried on top of each other and pieces of wood that might have been part of coffins were found scattered around the cemetery.”

Funeral industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy, R.Brian Burkhardt, Funeral Director.

Michael Jackson Funeral|Viewing Neverland Ranch-yourfuneralguy

Reports have come in that the there will be a Michael Jackson Funeral at Neverland Ranch On Sunday July 5th 2009. Reports state that the body of Michael Jackson will be driven 10: 00 am in a 30 car processional Thursday.

The drive will be 90 miles into the hills . The procession will cause logistic and security problems. A Visitation will happen on Friday or Saturday.

The family was not reached for comment on these developments.

Multiple police forces will be involved in the motorcade. The Funeral Home and Funeral Director has not been revealed.

From www.dailymail.co.uk

“Michael Jackson’s body will be driven by a 30-car motorcade to to his Neverland Ranch for a public viewing later this week. A private service for family and close friends is then expected to be held this Sunday.

The public viewing is likely to be held at the Californian ranch on Friday or Saturday.It is believed the motorcade will set off from Los Angeles at around 10am on Thursday.”

Funeral Industry|Funeral blog by your Funeral Guy.

Michael Jackson Hollywood walk of fame star pic from flickr under the creative commons license sharona790’s photostream

Predators in the funeral Industry:Cemetery Lawsuit-YourFuneralGuy

A Georgia Cemetery Owner was called a Predator by a Judge recently.

Revealed now  is a recent illustration predators in the funeral business. An Owner a group of cemeteries stopped all competitor vaults(concrete and other) from being sold at his cemeteries. He then raised the prices on his own inexpensive vault.

If you expect to come in under the average cost of a funeral you need to avoid predators in the funeral business or industry.

This is an example of predators in the industry. The cemetery owner in this case was taking advantage of his customers and his competition a lawsuit was filed  which brought on a court order.

This was brought in to the light by a news article in Augusta Georgia.

From chronicle.augusta.com

ARTICLE TITLED:

“Judge blocks cemetery owner’s plan to ban concrete vaults”

“In essence, Mr. Nikola is a business predator and has acted in bad faith,” Brannen ruled in an order filed May 19. “He bought cemeteries in an effort to make a profit to the detriment of those he claims to serve.”

If you are a funeral professional do not be a predator. If you are a consumer do your best not to do business with funeral predators.

Funeral Industry Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy, Funeral Director, Illinois, Virginia.

Batesville Revenue points to Funeral industry Decline-YourFuneralGuy

Batesville Casket Had a 17.1% decline in net income, a bad sign for the funeral business.

The largest casket maker in the United States has posted a 17.1% decline in net income in their 2nd Quarter of 2009. This is another indication of  more decline in the funeral business. (Numbers here do not include litigation costs and spin off adjustments)

Hillenbrand Inc- Batesville Casket Co.

“Kenneth Camp, president and chief executive officer of Hillenbrand, Inc said, “The funeral services industry has experienced a decline in burials that is largely consistent with a mild influenza and pneumonia season, combined with an increase in cremations that may be more pronounced in the current economic environment. There also has been more intense competition in both the casket and cremation businesses.-(rttnews.com)

Excluding costs, net income was $28.6 million, down 17.1% from $34.5 million in the prior yearquarter.-(rttnews.com)

Batesville casket  did post a profit due to the reduction of operations-but operations cannot be reduced forever. A 17.1 decline in net income paints a steep decline in the casket end of the US  funeral industry. Not only was  there more cremation and  less burial , there was a significant  threat to the US funeral industry in the rise of high quality Chinese Casket imports.

That is  part of the rise in more intense competition.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

Source(rttnews.com)

post updated at 12:54 Am on May13th 2009 due to inaccurate info fron 1st source.( revenue decline was 10.8% not 22%)

Worlds Largest Funeral Corp:Preneed Dead?-yourfuneralguy.

Is Funeral Guaranteed Preneed Dead?

As stated before, YourFuneral Guy believes that the Guaranteed  Funeral Preneed is dead. It appears that numbers from the World’s Largest Funeral Corporation point to the death of the funeral product that has been around since the 1970′s.

Preneed sales at Service Corporation  International(NYSE:SCI) have been declining in the last 2 quarters.

The last quarter results point to corporate disaster for Service Corporation International.

As far as corporate reports go the numbers are buried in the details.

Overall Losses in 10′s of millions the first quarter 2009.

For the 1st quarter of 2009  losses were in the 10′s of millions.

• Funeral Revenue was down 41.6 million compared to the 1st Quarter 2008
• Cemetery Revenue was down  23.4 million compared to the 1st Quarter 2008

“Preneed fund ” unrealized losses for first quarter 2009 in 100′s of millions:

“As of March 31, 2009, we have net unrealized losses of $500.8 million in our preneed funeral and cemetery merchandise and service trusts, and net unrealized losses of $189.3 million in our cemetery perpetual care trusts.”-SCI report”

These numbers compare 2009 and 2008 1st Quarter Trust figures.

Preneed trust Losses in 10′s of millions for the 1st quarter 2009.

“In the first quarter of 2009, we realized aggregate net losses of $40.8 million in our preneed funeral and cemetery merchandise and service trusts. In addition, we realized aggregate net losses of $10.7 million in our cemetery perpetual care trusts.”

This all points toward a death that has occurred for guarranteed preneed.

Avoid the wicked flea of guaranteed funeral preneed. It will bite you. So  if the funeral salesman says “guaranteed” flee.

This is just another strong indication of the coming funeral earthquake in the funeral business.

How can anyone guarantee investments 2, 5, or 10 years out.?

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy-R.Brian Burkhardt

The three main causes of the death of preneed are 1-Wall Street Crash 2-the National Prearranged Services Scandal and the Illinois Funeral Directors Association IFDA Preneed Trust Scandal. “See Who Shot Preneed”

Sources: Entrepeneur

GuruFocus.com

Illinois Funeral Task Force- Sad:Politics as Usual-YourFuneral Guy.

My hopes for reform in the Illinois Funeral Directors Association Preneed Ponzi Scheme were dashed upon the rocks yesterday. Mr Duane Marsh Executive Director of the IFDA has said in several Newspapers articles that the IFDA is behind the Legislative Task Force.

The Light Bulb went off in my head Yesterday when I received an e-mail from the IFDA.

“IFDA E-News Bulletin
May 6, 2009We have supported HR0177, which creates a task force to investigate preneed in Illinois, and specifically the IFDA Preneed Trust. We hope this new bill will not dilute the gathering of further information to insure all areas of concern are examined.”

The Aha moment:

The Legislators in the House of Representatives who are appointing the majority of the  task force are folks who the IFDA has  lobbied and donated money to for years. A full overview of the IFDA Preneed Ponzi scheme suggest the Lobbying and donation money came from the IFDA Preneed Trust.

Since 1996, the IFDA and its political action committee have contributed nearly $263,500 to politicians and political parties. Nearly $98,000 of those contributions took place after June 2006, when the comptroller’s office sent the warning letter to the IFDA.

Illinois Funeral Task Force investigating IFDA Ponzi Scheme turns out to be politics as usual.

Here is how it breaks down:

3 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Michael Madigan received campaign funds from the IFDA  PAC according to the Springfield, Il State Journal Register article:

House Speaker Michael Madigan has been among the group’s biggest beneficiaries, collecting $16,000 in contributions, twice what he collected from the IFDA and its political action committee during the previous decade.

3 members appointed by the Minority leader of the House of Representatives.

Republican Tom Cross (minority leader since 2002)

1 member appointed by the State Comptroller

1 member appointed by the Director of the Cemetery and  Burial Trust Division of the Illinois Comptrollers office.

1 member appointed by the Director of the Division of Insurance within the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

1 member appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Professional Regulation.

Doing the Math.

CONCLUSION: THE MAJORITY OF THE IFDA INVESTIGATION TASK FORCE WILL BE APPOINTED BY TWO or more POLITICIANS and Administrators  WHO THE IFDA LOBBIED FOR YEARS!

The lobbyists:  Tom Cullen and  Illinois Senator Roland Burris.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Cost Blog By Your Funeral Guy-R.Brian Burkhardt

“Government Leaders” to Talk in Illinois Funeral Scam.-yourfuneralguy

Illinois Senator Roland Burris(on right) and Government Regulators will give information in a Funeral Scandal Lawsuit

“Depositions are in” in the Calvert  Six Funeral Director Lawsuit against the IFDA. The matter of the lawsuit against the Illinois Funeral Directors “misuse” or theft of  almost 60 Million Dollars will soon be before a Court of Law.

According to the law firm for Calvert Funeral Homes and the other Funeral Directors bringing suit against the

“IFDA:

“Wexler Wallace filed Plaintiffs’ Derivative Complaint on January 28, 2009.  Defendants’ continue to deny responsibility and their responses to the Derivative Complaint are due on April 29, 2009.

Wexler Wallace has issued numerous third-party subpoenas, including a subpoena to U.S. Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) seeking documents relating to the Senator’s issuance of IFDA’s trustee license when he was Comptroller and the Senator’s lobbying activities on behalf of IFDA after he became aware of the Preneed Trust’s deficit.  Wexler Wallace has also issued subpoenas to the Illinois Office of the Comptroller and the Illinois Banking Division of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which are the Illinois governmental agencies charged with overseeing the Preneed Trust.  Wexler Wallace has also subpoenaed the accounting firms that audited the Preneed Trust and other entities that are believed to have information relevant to the lawsuit”

So what does this mean for the IFDA and the Regulators in the State of Illinois? It means that these government leaders who were responsible for Regulation of the IFDA preneed Trust will have to explain themselves and give up  information.

Specifically: United States Senator from ” ILLINOIS”  Senator Roland Burris

State of Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes.

Officers of the Banking Division of the Illinois Department of Regulation.

Accounting firms and other entities that have audited the  IFDA Preneed Trust.

It is  my contention that both sides area at fault in this situation for failure to do Due Diligence. Check it out

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Burris wih ex Governor Blagovitch pic from flickr under the creative commons license from

chicagopublicradio ‘s photostream

Now Swine Flu Pandemic or Panic|WHO says what?

Swine Flu|Pandemic or Panic?

The world health organization (WHO) has put the planet as halfway there to a pandemic. Medical leaders around the world are on the alert. They have good reason. The Virus that is spreading among humans has never been seen before. Government leaders in the USA barely mentioned that in their news briefing Sunday. They did not mention that the virus, is a combination of swine, bird, and human flu viruses.

Sounds like a B Horror flick. WHO says were at the one half mark to Pandemic. Check out their website on Epidemic Alert and Response.

Google has provided a moment by moment swine flu map. and Bloomberg.Com is doing updates on an initial story.

It is sort of like saying the US Military is on alert. There may not be a crisis. It is the end of the flu season which is a good thing. One could say the world medical community is on alert.

One would not be honest if this was not mentioned. The source could be giant pig factories in Mexico. This virus can also be created easily in the lab. Terrorism may be a possibility. Mexico maybe a Terrorist Target to distract the government there from Drug wars. Do not expect to hear about the clandestine side of the situation. You can read more about Pandemic-Spread&Panic here.

Pray that it will not be like 1918 where 41 million people died and funeral directors became involved.

Funeral Indistry| Funeral Costs Blog R.Brian Burkhardt|YourFuneralGuy

Some States have Effective Preneed Laws-Yourfuneralguy

When calling others to honesty it is best to be sure you are honest with your self. Overall I oppose preneed because of abuses. One State is very effective in regulating  preneed. New York, unlike Illinois does not allow prearranged funds to be put in life insurance policies. All of the funds given to the funeral director are placed in trust  for the  individual.

New York has good laws when it Comes to Funeral Preneed.

According to the State Journal Register a Spring field Illinois Newspaper.

“Unlike in Illinois, where pre-need funeral trust funds have been spent on complex life insurance policies and some money ended up in the stock market, New York funeral directors have no fancy investments. There are no astronomical returns, no dizzying losses, no salesmen pitching funeral directors on can’t-miss investment schemes in hopes of collecting commissions.”

New York is one of the few in the United States that has good preneed Law. Bonnie McCullough of  the New York Funeral Directors Association Director has stated that guaranteed preneed is no longer realistic for the Funeral Director.

Sadly most  average Americans are generally shocked now that their Funeral Prices cannot be guaranteed.

Because our financial and investment systems are changing No LONGER Can a Preneed Salesman  or the Funeral Director say the classic preneed line  that most boomers have often heard.

“We will lock in today’s prices for your funeral. You will not have to pay more than what it costs today”

Guaranteed  Preneed is dead. Anyone in the funeral business who tells you different is lying. In the present environment, Funeral Directors must take Extraordinary steps NOW to be sure that they and their sales people present the truth. Because the slogan was repeated so long and in hard sell the funeral consumer is not going to like what they should hear.

For most consumers in the USA Funeral preneed should be avoided. A Preplanned Funeral however is a must.

All I can say is shame on the Illinois Funeral Directors and the Leaders mentioned here who got greedy with the IFDA Preneed Trust.

R. Brian Burkhardt.|Your Funeral Guy.

Those leaders mentioned here are: NFDA Executive Secretary. Randal L Earll, Geoffrey W. Hurd, Eric R. Trimble.and Charles S. Childs Jr. They have been  spoken to the press and covered in the press. They are named in IFDA lawsuits.

Depositions in Funeral Industry Lawsuits have begun-yourfuneralguy

Funeral Lawsuits dispositions have begun in Illinos on the Funeral-IFDA- ponzi scheme.

Depositions in  a Funeral Industry lawsuits have begun in Illinois. This is in regards to the Illinois Funeral Directors Association alleged ponzi scam. On March 31st 2009, the executive director of the IFDA Illinois Funeral Directors Association gave a speech to a group of Funeral directors in Rockford. IL.

Duane Marsh stated that thousands of documents have gone out to the opposing law firms daily. Marsh said that everyone is cooperating together which makes no sense given the adversarial justice system in America. He also stated that depositions in the Lawsuit began on 31 March 09.

From a recent State Journal Register article.

“In two lawsuits, funeral homes and consumers say IFDA mismanagement led to losses totaling tens of millions of dollars in a pre-need funeral fund once administered by the funeral directors association. The plaintiffs compare the fund to a Ponzi scheme, saying it paid out interest to funeral home directors even while it was running deficits.”

Duane Marsh went on to say that the insurance company for the IFDA was covering costs for lawyers, pending the outcome of the Insurers  lawsuit. If the insurer wins their lawsuit he stated that there is a distinct possibility that the Illinois Funeral Directors Association could go bankrupt.

Marsh also stated that the IFDA was being defended by a Chicago law firm but did not name the firm. The IFDA executive director said that the matter would be resolved by the courts.

Lawsuits generally cause funeral directors expenses  to rise and this forces funeral costs upward.

Funeral Industry| Funeral Costs blog by Your Funeral Guy.

Source Your Funeral Guy’s notes from Duane Marsh’s speech.

Springfield, IL Newspaper recent- State journal Register article.

Duane Marsh has been named in  Recent Articles on the IFDA Mess.