More than 1,300 customers paid $2.49 million in advance funeral fees during that time, prosecutors said. Federal law required 70 percent of that money to be held in trust accounts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Stallings said records show Stabile deposited only $54,000.

Though Stabile admits he is guilty of misappropriating money customers paid for future funerals, defense attorney Michael Novara argued his client did not go into business intending to rip people off.

"Mr. Stabile has issues with the concept this was a scheme to defraud from the get-go," Novara said.

Instead, once the business began to tank and after Stabile invested about $500,000 of his own money, Novara said, he raided the trust accounts to cover business expenses.

Stabile is the fourth person to plead guilty in the investigation. The others are Westmoreland County lawyer Paul Elias, 53, of Jeannette; former office manager John Parillo, 51, of Scott; and former vice president of marketing Drew Borst, 39, of Monroeville.

Stabile was convicted in Lehigh County in 1997 on a state charge of felony theft by deception, Stallings said. He was fined $5,000 and given six years' probation. Stallings did not have details of that conviction.

In 2004, Stabile settled a civil lawsuit with the state Attorney General's Office, which accused him of not depositing $22,000 of customer money in trust accounts. The lawsuit sought $45,000 in restitution for 28 customers in Pennsylvania and nine other states.

Stabile promised his company would stop advertising to sell pre-funeral services and would no longer accept payments from existing customers. Government officials said the company did not live up to the promise.

A similar promise was made in 2002 to settle a West Virginia lawsuit.

Stabile will be sentenced July 23 in Pittsburgh by Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond. He faces between 70 and 87 months in prison.

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