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Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
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Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
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West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
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Former Funeral Director Under Arrest |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Wednesday, 29 June 2005 |
Former Funeral Director Under Arrest
Accused Of Stealing $30,000 From Clients
June 29, 2005
By HILDA MUÑOZ, Courant Staff Writer
Hartford Courant
NEW BRITAIN, CT -- A former funeral director was arrested Tuesday on charges he stole about $30,000 from families who paid him in advance for funeral services, the state's top prosecutor said.
Robert E. Kiniry, 64, who ran the now-defunct Haffey-Lyons & Kiniry Funeral Home on Winter Street, was paid by four families to create "pre-need" funeral accounts, Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano said.
Kiniry took their money, but either deposited a small amount of it in their accounts or didn't open an account, according to arrest warrants.
"People are trying to plan ahead, they're trying to take the burden off their loved ones when they die. When this happens, their loved ones become even more burdened because it's a difficult time and they're finding they are the victims of a crime," he said.
Kiniry faces one count of first-degree larceny, 11 of second-degree larceny, two of third-degree larceny and two of issuing a bad check. Charges were filed by Morano's office and Berlin and Wethersfield police.
It was not clear whether Kiniry posted $150,000 bail. He is to be arraigned today in Superior Court in New Britain. A woman who answered the phone at Kiniry's home in Farmington declined to comment.
Morano said the investigation is continuing. He said anyone who "may have been defrauded in this matter" should call the Elder Abuse Unit at 860-258-5986.
Kiniry's arrest is an extension of an investigation started in February 2004 by the Connecticut Board of Examiners Embalmers and Funeral Directors into allegations he overcharged his clients and took money from pre-need accounts for his own personal use.
Kiniry surrendered his license to operate a funeral home in June 2004.
"We accomplished what we could within our jurisdiction, we got the revocation of the license," said Kathleen W. Boulware of the state Department of Health, which oversees the board of embalmers and funeral directors. "And the issues of misappropriation of funds we referred to the state's attorney's office."
The chief state's attorney's investigation found that Kiniry took $28,845 from four families between 1997 and 2004. He also cremated a woman who had asked for burial service and did not reimburse her family for left-over funds, according to an arrest affidavit.
Frank Agostinucci said Tuesday that he and his late wife, Irene, paid Kiniry $11,000 nearly eight years ago for their funerals.
When Irene died last year, Kiniry had lost his license and was supposed to transfer the Agostinucci's account to a Berlin funeral home. According to the warrant, none of that $11,000 was turned over to the funeral home that provided services.
Her funeral expenses were partially covered by a $1,600 payment from a life insurance policy. As for his own service, Agostinucci said he'll have to start saving up.
"What am I going to do? I'll never get my money back, he ain't got nothing to give," said Agostinucci. "What am I supposed to do, shoot the guy? What's done is done, I feel sorry for him. ... He seemed like a nice fellow. So he went wrong. God bless him anyway."
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