Police join investigation of cemetery operator

Already in trouble for failing to deliver pre-paid headstones, a cemetery operator could now face criminal charges.

An investigation of Mike Graham & Associates, which operates two cemeteries in Sikeston, Mo., and one near Morley, Mo., focuses on company business practices, said Drew Juden, chief of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety.

"You have got some individuals anxious to take your money and not so anxious to deliver the service," Juden said.

The company, which has headquarters in Houston, Texas, would not comment, said a person who answered the phone but declined to identify herself.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon last month won a preliminary injunction barring the company from selling pre-paid burial plots, headstones or mausoleum crypts. And a Sikeston attorney Joseph Blanton Jr.wants court permission to sue the company on behalf of all the families with relatives in the three cemeteries.

Blanton's lawsuit names three plaintiffs, one with an interest in each cemetery. He wants class-action status for the lawsuit.

The cemetery owners won't keep the lawns mowed or do other routine maintenance, Blanton said.

The Sikeston City Council ordered city public works employees to mow the cemeteries.

The company operates Memorial Park and Garden of Memories cemeteries in Sikeston and Forest Hill Memorial Gardens in Morley.

When Nixon filed his lawsuit, his office had identified more than 100 customers who had paid $260,000 to Graham and Associates for services they never received. After announcing the lawsuit, 24 more customers came forward, said Jim Gardner, spokesman for Nixon.

The criminal investigation resulted from complaints in the community, Juden said. "From what I understand, it has been going on for several years. There have been problems in other states. Instead of this being outside the norm, this is the way they operate their cemeteries, which is totally unacceptable."

Juden said he was unsure how long the investigation would take. He is urging people with complaints to call Nixon's consumer fraud hotline at (800) 392-8222. He also wants people to call the Department of Public Safety.

The department will work with the attorney general to develop a list of people who believe they are victims, Juden said. "We are just in our infancy on this."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126