The company, accused of digging up bodies to make room for new ones, agrees to provide indigent burials free for one year.
By Associated Press
Published April 2, 2004
WEST PALM BEACH - A funeral services company accused of digging up graves and moving bodies to make room for new remains agreed to a deal that includes free indigent burials in return for criminal charges being dropped, state prosecutors said Thursday.
Service Corporation International of Houston and subsidiary SCI Florida, owners of two Menorah Gardens cemeteries in Broward and Palm Beach counties, will pay the state $100,000 to cover investigation costs.
SCI, the world's largest cemetery and funeral services company, will also post a $3-million bond guaranteeing that it will follow through on an earlier settlement of a state lawsuit that requires it to pay $14-million in fines and restitution.
The settlement also requires SCI to provide graves, burial containers and services to indigents from Broward and Palm Beach counties at no charge for one year. Furthermore, SCI must give $1-million to the Florida Attorney General's Office to pay for training auditors and enhancing oversight of cemeteries in Florida.
In return, two felony charges of misconduct and negligence against SCI in Houston and four against SCI Florida were dismissed, special prosecutor James Cobb said. Each count was punishable by a $5,000 fine.
"The resolution of this criminal case ... is in the best interest of the victims of Menorah Gardens, customers at other SCI-operated facilities in Florida, and Florida's taxpayers," Cobb said.
The cemeteries were accused of digging up graves, burying people in the wrong places, and in some instances, tossing bones into the woods.
SCI has already apologized, begun to clean up its problems and promised they wouldn't happen again.
"It was time to get this over with," said company spokesman Don Mathis. "(The deal) helps restore faith in the company and in the company's product."
The company has settled two lawsuits filed over the handling of remains at Menorah Gardens, and has others pending.
Besides the $14-million settlement with the state, the company reached a $100-million settlement in December with about 700 families.
The state also said former SCI vice president Jeffrey Frucht has pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact for failing to notify a family that the cadaver of their relative had been moved.
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, one year's probation, a $1,000 fine and $3,500 in prosecution costs. He also must testify against SCI in any future cases.
