Concern for graves

Frustration is growing in the aftermath of a cemetery business scandal in Scott County.

In mid-March the courts turned over custody of three area cemeteries to local governments: Memorial Park Cemetery and Garden of Memories Cemetery in Sikeston and Forest Hill Memorial Gardens outside Morley. The cemeteries changed hands after they were taken from Michael Graham and Associates, a Texas-based company that owns cemeteries in several states.

A month and a half later, those local governments, particularly the city of Sikeston, are anxiously awaiting word on when they'll be able to bow out of the cemetery business.

"There was a state agency that allowed this to happen, and it's incomprehensible to me that the city of Sikeston's taxpayers or the Scott County taxpayers are having to provide the money to maintain these," said Sikeston city manager Doug Friend.

If Sikeston has to maintain the appearance of two of the cemeteries all summer, Friend estimates the cost to the city could be $50,000 to $60,000.

"That's three police cars I get to buy," Friend said. "Those are improvements to a softball, baseball or soccer field."

The target of Friend's anger is the Office of Endowed Care Cemeteries, part of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The office is charged with overseeing "endowed care" cemeteries and conducting audits of their trust funds. In the case of Graham, those trust funds set aside for the care of the three cemeteries apparently disappeared, as no money was set aside for upkeep in the past few years.

Sikeston funeral director Tom Nunnelee said problems with Graham cemeteries were noticed as far back as 2003 or 2004, but the Office of Endowed Care didn't urge the attorney general to take action in the case until summer 2005. The possible delay -- a representative for the office said complaints weren't filed until early 2005 -- is what Friend, Nunnelee and others dealing with the situation in Sikeston can't understand.

"In my 20-plus years in city government I've never had a situation as frustrating as this," Friend said. "Obviously, the Sikeston City Council is gong to do the right thing ... but it wasn't our fault. There was a state agency charged with ensuring Michael Graham couldn't do this. It's just not right."

In August 2005 the state attorney general's office took legal action against Graham as part of a larger campaign called Operation Grave Concern. The action targeted four Graham cemeteries -- three in Southeast Missouri and the Ozark Memorial Cemetery in Rolla -- where space was sold in a mausoleum that had yet to be constructed.

Locally, Graham was accused of selling markers and funeral plans and not delivering the promised goods and services. No one has cataloged exactly how many people were affected.

Those lawsuits were initiated following investigation by the Office of Endowed Care Cemeteries, said Emily Kampeter, spokeswoman for the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration that oversees the Office of Endowed Care. Kampeter said the first complaints filed with the office were received in early 2005, shortly before the attorney general's action began. Audits of Graham's cemeteries were conducted in 2004 and 2005, Kampeter said. She said she couldn't release any details because the audits are part of an investigation and can't be disclosed until disciplinary action is taken against the Texas company.

Endowed care cemeteries are required to put 15 percent of the sale of plots into a trust fund that will pay for perpetual care of the cemetery. Use of the trust funds for other purposes is prohibited.

Little information has been released to the public detailing how the fund set aside for the care of Graham's three local cemeteries dried up. Graham's attorney, Bernard Weinand of Kansas City, Mo., said he's "not in a position to discuss a client's business."

Weinand said he could not comment on the ongoing legal action against Graham but said he's trying to secure terms of sale for the three cemeteries that would require a new owner to take over the obligations under contract.

He did confirm that his client has health issues that could have complicated the company's financial situation, but as far as he knows Graham and Associates has not filed for bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, local governments are waiting for a new buyer to accept the cemeteries so they can stop taking care of them. The cemeteries had developed a reputation for poor upkeep in the past few years. Scott County funeral home director Scott Amick said the cemetery at Morley was known for its tall grass and other vegetation problems the past few years. Amick said his company would arrange funerals at the cemetery and have to deal with tall grass, overgrowth on the edges of roads and tree branches that extended out over the roadways.

Scott County's government shares in Sikeston's frustration, but not to the same degree. The county has one cemetery to maintain, and most people close to the situation say the problems at Morley haven't been as severe as those in Sikeston.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182