Get your heads out of your asses. ", Coming next, Part 2 --Who buries Massachusetts' poor? View our Privacy Policy. This means,at any time during that period, the morgue was holding on to a dozen or more of yesterday's bodies, becauseof troubles the state Department of Transitional Assistance was experiencing in trying to find funeral directors willing to bury them. Notably Stefan, who called the policy "discriminatory." A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Support local news and always be the first to know! ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 2/12/2023 Already under the strain of a backlog, the overloaded agency which need only investigate deaths that occur under violent, suspicious, or unexplained circumstances will naturally avoid coming into possession of extra bodies when possible.That refusal kicked off a chain of events many police, especially in Eastern Massachusetts, are all too familiar with. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4fRsz4Kqz-0&feature=youtu.be, My heart felt condolences. Stephen Ledoux had a physician's order to remain on oxygen "at all times. From my first contact with this company, to the completion of business with them this morningeveryone was. 13 episodes "From the time you are born, Til you ride in a hearse, Everything that happens in between could be worse." With his Death Perception podcast, self-help host Joe Casper shares insights on living life, death, and everything in-between. Hess and Koch would also ship bodies and body parts that tested positive for, or belonging to people who had died from, infectious diseases, including Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, after certifying to buyers that the remains were disease free. September 8, 2021. How can you even call this investigative reporting. Why hasnt Caspers come clean? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. And on top of that not the first time they have had lawsuits filed against them. One of our compassionate and professional funeral directors will be honored to assist you. Casper Funeral & Cremation Services in Boston also specializes in international funeral shipping (funeral repatriation from Massachusetts across the world) and helping you plan a local memorial service prior to shipping. "This way it forces people to meet the issue head-on, because I can say, 'I'm not looking for a dime out of this,'" Stefan said. The operation is run by Casper Funeral and Cremation Services, a company that calls itself one of the most trusted funeral and cremation service providers in the state. Next of kin have been notified and autopsies have been scheduled. We offer funeral, cremation, and burial services to families all over Massachusetts see our locations served pages for a full list of areas we serve. "The reimbursement available to families and funeral homes is woefully inadequate to cover the time and expense most funeral homes incur for such a burial," he said. WEBVTT HE DOES HOWEVER HAVE ANOUTSTANDING WARRANT FORVIOLATING A RESTRAINING ORDER.>> THANK YOU.5 INVESTIGATES WITH A LOCALFUNERAL HOME FIRING BACK AGAINSTTHE STATE AFTER INVESTIGATORSDISCOVERED BODIES BEING STOREDIN AN UNLICENSED GARAGE.KATHY CURRAN BROKE THE STORYTHIS SUMMER AND NOW HAS NEWINFORMATION.>> HONESTLY, I WAS SICK, JUSTHEARING ABOUT IT.>> THE COMPANY SHE TRUSTED TOHANDLE HER HUSBAND'S CREMATIONWAS USING THIS GARAGE IN SOUTHBOSTON TO STORE BODIES.YOU CAN SEE THE REFRIGERATORS INTHE BACK.A BOBCAT IS PARKED NEARBY.STATE INVESTIGATORS SAY THEFACILITY IS UNLICENSED.THE FACILITY SAYS THEY AREGRANDFATHERED UNDER THE FUNERALHOME'S LICENSE AND THAT THIS ISNOT A GARAGE BUT ASTATE-OF-THE-ART REFRIGERATIONFACILITY UNDER CONSTANTSURVEILLANCE.JACKIE TAYLOR WAS A FORMERFUNERAL DIRECTOR AND INDUSTRYCONSULTANT.>> THE ETHICAL METRIC IS WOULDYOU TELL THE PUBLIC.IF THEY CAN PROUDLY DISCLOSE TOFAMILIES THAT THEIR BODIES AREBEING STORED IN A PUBLIC GARAGE,AND THAT'S OK.>> INVESTIGATORS FOUND A DOZENBODIES STORED IN A REFRIGERATOR.THERE WERE NO SPRINKLERS ORDRAINS.SHE SAYS THEY WERE NOT DOING ANYOF BOMBING IN THE SPACE, SOSPRINKLERS AND DRAINS ARE NOTREQUIRED BY LAW.THEY ADDED INVESTIGATORS CLAIMIT WAS KEPT SECRET FROM THESTATE AND THAT IT IS WRONG. My respect and trust for the company is gone. Between January 2014 and January 2016, the OCME came into possession of186 abandoned bodies, each of which it held in its morgue coolers an average of 44 days, the data show. Dont shoot the messenger. According to Jeffersonville Police Major Isaac Parker, the department began its investigation of the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville on Friday. Leave a message of condolence while browsing through obituaries and death notices for current and past services being held at our funeral home. This is what they allegedly did to his body after his death. Justin Morgan and Leo Hernan-dez both 17, both students at Douglas High School died from 5 Investigates: Family says loved one deserved respect from funeral home, 5 Investigates: Funeral home accused of storing bodies in unlicensed Southie garage. As a hearse backs into an unmarked garage in an old brick building on Tudor Street in South Boston, the sounds of heavy metal music and car repair work echo from the shop next door. His report says the OCME was "becoming increasingly concerned" by the amount of time it takes to find funeral homes willing to accept their abandoned bodies, or as they referred to them, "unclaimed decedents. Funeral Home and On- Site Crematory Location: 2659 John F. Kennedy Road Dubuque IA 52002 Contact. I will continue to report on all stories that relate to South Boston good or bad. 2006-03-28 04:00:00 PDT Washington -- Caspar W. Weinberger, the San Francisco native whose tenure as President Ronald Reagan 's defense secretary was caught in the Iran-Contra affair, died . Faced with such a thin margin to break even somewhat even, Stefan says theDepartment of Transitional Assistancerejections become extra vexing.Dozens of invoices he turned over to MassLive showwelfare deducting sometimes large, sometimes comically small, amounts of money from his $1,100 reimbursement, because their people had tracked down some money belonging to the deceased. Other times, Stefan has taken state welfare to court, and won, for instance, by arguing that an automobile they sent him chasing after in lieu of compensation was an "inaccessible asset." "I explained to him the problem. Let us know. This article is not making me feel very well. Check out our cremation FAQs or call us 24/7. 5 Investigates: Funeral home accused of storing bodies in unlicensed Southie garage. Since the reimbursement on abandoned bodies in the OCME's possession was increased to $2,100, the average stay in the morgue for each of the 150 abandoned bodies it has since received has been cut down to just8.8 days. DENVER United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn today announced that the operators of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, were arrested for illegally selling body parts or entire bodies without the consent of the family of the deceased. The waiting game began. Officials also found the post-cremation remains of 16 people, according to a release. Service: 4 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. It doesn't come close ethically, it doesn't come close legally.". 3. The funeral home was fined and put on probation. More . A local funeral home is under investigation for using a garage as an unlicensed storage facility for the dead fired back at the state, saying they've done nothing wrong and that they've being unfairly targeted.Casper Funeral and Cremation Services wrote that the state Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers' case was a "bad faith investigation" and "malicious prosecution".According to documents obtained by 5 Investigates, during a recent state inspection an investigator found a dozen bodies stashed in a refrigerator. AtHope Cemetery, also in Wocester, Stefan can bury one body per grave at a cost of $750. A Visitation will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2022 from 11:00AM - 1:00PM at Bustard &. or by visiting the funeral home at 600 CY Avenue. David I will be stopping by in the next two weeks to speak to you about my cremation as I have always planned on putting my final resting place in your (MORE THAN CAPABLE AND PROFESSIONAL) hands. The investigation also goes on to report that during a recent recent surprise state inspection an investigator found two bodies being processed in the unlicensed space. Channel 5 investigates discovered a garage where bodies were stored in refrigerators on Tudor Street. The garage is not licensed for funeral services. Newcomer Funeral Home & Crematory Casper Chapel 710 East 2nd Street Casper, WY 82601 REVIEWS Price $ $$ "Everyone at Newcomer Funeral Home is so incredibly kind and caring. matt wenning program . Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. "Stefan doesn't necessarily propose increasing it. '"Stefan buries his unclaimed, sometimes two bodies to each unmarked grave, at St. John's Cemetery in Worcester at a cost of $700 per, the best he can do. "Other funeral directors interviewed by MassLive were less satisfied with the solution. On their website it appears they're touting the garage as a state-of-the-art secure funeral refrigeration facility. Casper's Massachusetts low-cost cremation services with no extra charges, international funeral shipping services from Massachusetts across the world make their funeral and cremation service offering unique. sfsi_widget_set(); There's a catch. Its simply not OK, Jacquie Taylor, a long-time funeral director and industry consultant, told 5 Investigates Kathy Curran, after seeing the video of the operation.Taylor said what we uncovered is illegal and unethical. She would let Ledoux stay in her apartment on weekends, according to Brockton police report. Twelve others were stashed in a refrigerator and there are no sprinklers or drains. In at least dozens of instances, Hess and Koch did not follow family wishes, and neither discussed nor obtained authorization for Donor Services to transfer decedents bodies or body parts to third parties. The Casper Funeral Home facilitated the cremation of my fathers body (Feb 2023). "The specific issue of hospital possession of unclaimed remains is a significant challenge," Berry said. The funeral home was fined and put on probation. (AP Photo/Steven Senne). Its an ethical issue and possibly a legal issue. It doesn't come close ethically, it doesn't come close legally. Planning ahead lets you control the process. My name is Jean Patts, . Absolutely amazing the work that you all do. I was a resident of South Boston for 55 1/2 years and Im calling B.S. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2023 Oil City News | 627 West Yellowstone, Casper, Wyoming 82601 | Privacy | AP Policy Website by Web Publisher PRO, Man sentenced to 1015 years for inflicting traumatic injury on infant, Former doctor convicted of sexual assault freed after appeal vacates count, Young pleads guilty to double homicide in Natrona County, Casper police increase reward for information on Wellspring Health Access arson case, Platte Hemp Company advocating for growth in Wyomings cannabis legislation, UW Extension offers Wyoming Bee College and Garden to Market Conference in Cheyenne, United Way of Natrona County partnering with restaurants for Eat, Drink & Be Caring, March motor vehicle registration renewal postcards print with postage error, Texas Street extension road design open for public comment, Wyoming Highway Patrol certifies 9 more fentanyl-detection canine teams. (Kristin LaFratta), Stefan, who had expected to receive Ledoux's body back from the medical examiner eventually, said he was surprised to find the office never contacted him again about the matter.In response to a MassLive inquiry about what ever happened to Ledoux,Office of the Chief Medical Examiner spokesmanFelix Browne said after the office dispossessed Stefan of his body,the department of Transitional Assistance ended up transferring the remains toLawler. About Casper Funeral & Cremation Services Address Serves all of Massachusetts Price $ $$ Website http://www.casperfunerals Phone (617) 269-1930 Request Information Estimated price list for Casper Funeral & Cremation Services Prices are estimates and are only intended to provide directional information. It is hard to imagine the pain and worry of those who used Sunset Mesa and not knowing what happened to their loved ones remains., I also want to recognize the hard work of the men and women of the FBI who conducted this investigation, added U.S. Attorney Dunn. State investigators say during an inspection, Casper's funeral director told them that the actual funeral home was their only facility and made no mention of that garage. veterans services for those men and women who have bravely sacrificed by serving our country. Casper said they weren't doing any embalming in the space so sprinklers and drains aren't required by law.They also say the use of this space has always been above board and well known, adding investigators claiming that it was kept secret from the state is simply wrong and has damaged the company's reputation. Its simply not OK, Jacquie Taylor, a long-time funeral director and industry consultant, told 5 Investigates Kathy Curran, after seeing the video of the operation. They say sometimes this is done by the department itself artificially inflating the cost of funerals to bump them above the $3,500 cap, disqualifying the funeral director's claim. According to the report the funeral home was reached out to but never responded to the request from Channel 5. The Casper treat all their deceased with the kindest if care,and respect. Proud to protect and serve the community of Casper, Wyoming #BetterTogether What happens if the cemeteries raise their (plot) prices $100, $200? The operation is run by Casper Funeral and Cremation Services, a company that calls itself one of the most trusted funeral and cremation service providers in the state. Bumping up the total reimbursement to $2,100. In response to a MassLive records request, Massachusetts provided welfare assistance in this fashion in more than 4,000 funerals in 2017. How can anyone defend these senseless people?! Search our Stefan said he received threats. Hess and Koch also delivered cremains to families with the representation that the cremains were that of the deceased when, frequently, that was not the case.