Mortuary owners arrested

By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor

The owners of a Hilo mortuary, under investigation for allegedly burying bodies in bags instead of caskets, were arrested yesterday as authorities moved to charge them with theft related to the sale of prepaid funeral plans.

Robert Diego has denied wrongdoing.

Momi Diego is a co-owner of the family's West Hawai'i Mortuary.

Bobbie Jean "B.J." Diego is the daughter of Robert and Momi.

The Diegos were held throughout the day at the Hilo police station, but as of last night had not been formally charged. An investigative team from the attorney general's office in Honolulu was on the Big Island yesterday to pursue evidence against the mortuary owners. Chief investigator Donald K.L. Wong said the team was making "every effort to charge them with theft" before the end of the 48-hour period during which criminal suspects can be held without charges.

Wong said his team was expected to stay overnight as members continue to interview customers of the Diegos' funeral-related businesses.

The theft investigation involves so-called "pre-need" funeral plans sold by the Diegos, he said. The pending charges do not involve allegations that the businesses sold caskets to families and then buried the bodies in bags, although investigators have received complaints about improper burials.

Robert Diego has denied wrongdoing. His attorney, Brenda Carreira, said yesterday that in the absence of formal charges, she has been unable to get any information about why the Diegos are being held. She called the accusations "false, preposterous and absurd."

Using a search warrant, officials last month seized records from the Maka'ala Street business. A Feb. 19 affidavit filed in support of the search warrant said a Big Island woman paid $4,300 for a pre-need funeral plan for her mother on April 26, 2000, and was told the money would be placed in trust with Bishop Trust Co. Ltd.

The woman later learned that Bishop Trust had not been operating under that name for a number of years and had terminated its trust agreement with Memorial Mortuary in 1989, the affidavit said.

State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs records show that at the time the woman bought the pre-need funeral plan, Memorial Mortuary was not authorized to sell the plans, according to the affidavit.

The document mentions two other Big Island families that had purchased pre-need funeral plans from Memorial Mortuary. In both cases, family members saw their loved ones in caskets at their gravesites before burial.

Later, when the families disinterred the bodies for reburial at another cemetery, they found the remains in body bags lying on bare dirt.

The investigation into Memorial Mortuary began last July after state authorities were contacted by Lucille Mossman, a former mortuary employee and Robert Diego's ex-girlfriend.

Along with information about the missing caskets, Mossman told investigators that Diego had been selling pre-need funeral plans without authorization and had been conducting embalmments without a license.

State records show that the mortuary's license to perform funeral and embalming services expired in 1995 and that warning letters were sent in 1997 and 1999. The Health Department reported that Diego is only an apprentice embalmer.

Using a list of former Diego mortuary customers provided by the Health Department, investigators sought help from the Army's Central Identification Laboratory-Hawai'i, based at Hickam Air Force Base. Probes and metal detectors were used to scan about 25 graves to detect the presence of caskets. In at least one case cited in the Feb. 19 affidavit, there was no evidence of a casket even though family members said they had purchased one from the Diegos.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.