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Final resting place: Cemeteries lack oversight

May 20, 2012 4:00 PM

At some cemeteries, graves were desecrated so more plots could be sold. Is enough being done to protect bereaved families? Anderson Cooper reports.

Final resting place: Cemeteries lack oversight
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by arcruz40 January 9, 2013 11:07 PM EST
I am surprised that many people don't believe about the death care industry abuse. In New York city if your loved one is buried in a religious cemetery, they are not regulated by the NYS department of cemeteries, as I learned first hand. The only regulations these cemeteries have to follow are the health code regulations. In my case this large catholic cemetery in the Bronx st raymonds cemetery is supposed to be regulated under the archdiocese of NY. They claim no responsibility, they say that the local parish has control. In NYC, I contacted every city and state agency along with the archdiocese of ny and no one has listened or done anything The only recourse for me was legal action at the Bronx supreme court house which is friendl with this huge institutuon in the Bronx. this cemetery has been around since 1860s. The archdiocese is friendly with ny court system. I say this because the judge ignored striaght forward evidence which included a title deed that was altered with the bural lot number being changed with white out, along with letter of st anselms church which has the identity of the real person in my mothers burial lot. The cemetery placed the gravestone on the wrong burial lot and place stickers to hide the truth. I presented photos of the gravestone. The staff has never have apologized and they have done everything to hide the truth becuase the row numbers were changed. I know first hand of the abusive practices of these institution. When I hear all of these people stating that there is no abuse, I hope that no one is eer in my shoes. At least I know where my mothers body is , i just can't get the cemetery to tell the truth and the court to order exhumation. Th judge Norma ruiz has had most of the st raymonds cemetery cases, with the same attorney mr griffin as the defendent attorney. what are the odds that this judge gets most of these cases dealing with st raymonds cemetery, if the court supposedly assigns cases to diferent judges randomly. This judge has disposed of five cases dealing with st raymonds cemetery. She ruled on bhalf of plaintiff against the cemetery only in cases where the plaintiff agrees to pay all exhumation expenses. In our case where we were suing to be made whole just to exhume the body and the cost of repairng the gravestone with the right information, she took ten months to rule on decision and only after I called her clerks office to inquire about case. The clerk seeme upset that I was questioning when case decision would be made, the next day she predated a motion decision as of March 12 2012. i called March 14th 2012 and the motion denial was filed march 15th2012. I had contacted court administration and they ignored my question on this issue. The attorney on case abandoned my case and refused to contact me so I had to place grievance just to get him to respond. I beleive that this judge told this attorney to let my case go so that I could not renew case with out him as attorney, so that I could not appeal. I have the phone log to prove this contact with her clerk on march 14th 2012. I have lost faith in corrupt court system in NY. My evidence was solid, read and see all documents on my site at stopcemeteryabuse.********. This bronx courthouse has had corruption with about three judges throughout the past decade the most recent was lee holtzman who was censured by judicial committee just last year. It is terrible whenyou can't get justice for your loved one. There are no agencies to help the consumer agianst religious cemeteries so that is true what funeral consumers alliance has stated.
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by k8kui August 11, 2012 11:31 AM EDT
I've been in the industry 17 years. I've been involved with many different companies in that time period but never worked for SCI. I can see how something like this can happen. There is a desperate need for regulation of some sort in the cemeteries. Most places are run fairly smooth and put the families first. Other places though DO use high pressure sales and will do whatever they can to make a buck. I'm I'm not just talking about SCI. There are a few other companies and locally owned "mom & pa" cemeteries too that do things that were portrayed in this segment. As far as the opening and closing costs go it is kind of a scam for what they charge. It doesn't take that long to complete a burial from start to finish. It usually takes all of 15-30 minutes to dig a grave. If the maintenance crew is worth their salt then they should be staying on top of the maintenance of their equipment to save on costly repairs that could be avoided. Most companies base the charge according to the area the cemetery is located in. For example, the o&c cost double to triple the amount in Chicago than it would be in some small town outside of a metropolis of that size. Cemeteries I've worked in charge a lot less than most of the parks that were mentioned in this segment. I could go on and on with what I know about this industry and companies but then I would need a publisher.
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by arcruz40 July 6, 2012 1:02 PM EDT
This story really affects me becasue of my current situation in a fight with st raymonds cemetery in the Bronx. This catholic institution has committed fraud and larceny against my family and has gotten away with it because of lack of oversight and regulation of this cemetery. If this industry were treated like any other business, it would be held criminally responsible. This staff changed the title deed on burial lot, then provided fake cemetery receipt with the details of another Maria Cruz, since our case has been quietly sweeped under the rug, it has not been reported nationally. I plan to change that as we go a second round at court. read my story at http://stopcemeteryabuse.********
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by gravedigger999 May 25, 2012 7:39 PM EDT
these pepole are so stupid . they try to bring down componies by using the bad just think thats the only bad thats ever happend in the cemetery busnesse in hundredst of years and milliens of happy fammlys. the pepole of 60 min are like a bunch of teens sitting around talking sh## they should be ashamed of them selfs. iv been working as a cemetary grounds worker for years now and sci is strict and supper regulater by them and by law i cant tuch a space without documented and famly sighend paper work . as for the price of the plots think of the man hours fuel. equipment maintinence, irrigation maintinence.pay for famly service counslers camission . lawn car for all of eternity . belever be ur getting a bargin on thoughs plots. if u seen in a maggazine that elvis was alive no this is all bull sh## . America was not brought up on cheep talk GROW UP!!
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by steveic May 22, 2012 8:02 PM EDT
Anderson, this is a great expose of cemeteries. If you would contact me, I'd lead you to the root of all evil in funeral homes.steveciccarelli@yahoo.com
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by gj28043 May 22, 2012 6:02 PM EDT
I worked for SCI Corp for 15 years.i am with another company in death care business now. All my years working for SCI i never seen disrespect to families we served in all my 15 years i was a superintendent over all grounds and all interments and we had and still have in this business is Families 1st and what that means is we treat everyone like it is our mom or dad we are laying to rest and if u can not do that then you need to leave this type of job and if you do not care u can not do this job . thanks for the time greg j
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by wolfmann4u-2009 May 22, 2012 2:30 PM EDT
this undertaker, mortician,funeral, cemeterie business is all as crooked as it gets as it has no regulation by anyone but their own and they all stick together to rip you off. We need State and Federal regulation in this business now
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by JKIM555 May 22, 2012 1:41 AM EDT
The Media has a SERIOUS leftwing bias. The producers at 60 minutes and some of the reporters have all had trouble with accurately telling the truth. Lying, fibbing, twisting, shining light on a small speck, presenting things in a totally slanted manner is how they get paid for ratings. The story is based on incidents that are isolated, sensational, and in states where there is very little oversight, and during times of private ownership. Every GOOD industry has it's bad dark side. I wish there was more objective reporting, which states have proper oversight, statitics of the frequency on the incidents being reported against the total volume of transactions. Also, a producer will pick up interviewees that will support their BIASED angle. You Josh are that person. It's good work you are doing, there are a-moral people in the funeral business, but they are NOT the majority. Why weren't the families who seriously benefited from the cost savings and who avoided grief decision making (by doing Pre-NEED), instead of getting hammered during a time of need...why weren't they interviewed, to balance out the BIASED strong angle. I wish FOXNEWS would get ahold of this, and show the BALANCED version of this report and how off kilter alot of Anderson Cooper's reporting really is, I mean this guy comes from CNN and they are known to fabricate for ratings and not come full circle when they have made mistakes reporting falsehoods.
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by RonOverlie May 21, 2012 11:03 PM EDT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQZyd31TN6M
http://www.facebook.com/#!/ron.overlie
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by ladyembalmer111 May 21, 2012 4:06 PM EDT
Cemeteries are in desperate need of regulation. I cringe when I hear stories like this, because they give the industry a bad name. I am truly glad for the clarity, that cemeteries and funeral homes are seperate entities, for the most part. SCI is another story entirely, and as Momma always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say..." There are still MANY privately owned Funeral Homes all over the country, and they are worth seeking out. Funeral Directors are required to be formally educated now, (almost) done are the days of generational teachings and unregulated funeral service providers. As students, we are taught that the most important aspect of this business is to care for the families we serve. However, what happens at the cemetery is beyond our control. We (as Americans, as humans) are reactive by nature; we need to make these changes toward cemetery regulation. Death is not a pleasant situation for anyone, and the negativity that stories like this bring about, paints everyone in the Deathcare Industry in a bad light.
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