Hawai'i targeted for mortuary inquiry
Advertiser Staff and News Services
A congressional inquiry into funeral home practices is expected to be expanded to include Hawai'i, said a Florida congressman who called the case of a Big Island funeral home "heartless profiteering."
But the attorney for the Big Island funeral home yesterday said her clients are innocent and called the congressman's comments unfair and inflammatory.
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Florida, asked the General Accounting Office on Monday to look into Hawai'i laws and alleged fraudulent practices at Memorial Mortuary in Hilo as part of the investigation it has agreed to conduct into recent cases of desecration at cemeteries and crematoriums in other states.
Last week, operators of the Hilo mortuary were arrested by agents from the state attorney general's office and then released without charges, pending further investigation of allegations that they buried bodies in bags rather than the caskets relatives had paid for. They have denied any wrongdoing.
"These mourners' loved ones were buried in bags like yesterday's trash," Foley said. "The heartless profiteers responsible have not only desecrated human bodies, they have perverted the very essence of morality and decency."
Memorial Mortuary owner Robert Diego, his wife, Momi Diego, and daughter, Bobbie Jean Diego, have denied accusations by some customers that bodies were not properly buried.
The chief of the state attorney general's investigation division, Donald K.L. Wong, yesterday declined to comment on the proposed congressional inquiry or the ongoing case.
Yesterday, Brenda Carreira, the attorney for Memorial Mortuary, said Foley's comments were "quite premature on his part."
"As far as his comments, the investigation is not complete as far as I'm concerned," Carreira said. "It's easy to make comments, but no one has been charged. There's been no trial.
"My feeling is that he's already tried and convicted my clients," Carreira said. "I don't think he knows anything about this case. I don't know what he's been told by the attorney general's office."
One purpose of the congressional investigation would be to determine whether state laws, including Hawai'i's, are adequate to prosecute such crimes, Foley said.
The congressional inquiry includes Georgia, Florida and California. A spokesman for Foley, Chris Paulitz, said the congressman expects Hawai'i to be included, along with at least four other states to be picked at random.
Carreira said the proposed congressional inquiry surprised her.
"It's news to me," Carreira said. "If they want to (investigate), it's up them. I didn't expect (the case) would be that far reaching."
A spokesman for the investigative office, Jeff Nelligan, said the inquiry likely would include Hawai'i. He said it could involve visits to any of the states as early as next month.
The national review of state laws and practices was prompted, in part, by a north Georgia case in which more than 300 corpses were found dumped in pits, left in sheds and stacked in vaults.
Earlier this month, the state of Florida sued a large burial company, claiming it misplaced remains and sold fake plots at two South Florida cemeteries. The suit also said workers dumped at least one body in a field where wild hogs roamed. A manager of the company committed suicide after initial allegations were made.
Consumer advocates long have complained about a patchwork of state laws regulating the funeral industry.
Paulitz said Foley, in calling for Hawai'i's inclusion in the investigation, was responding to Associated Press reports of allegations against Memorial Mortuary.
In his original request to congressional investigators, Foley asked for a look at Florida, Georgia and California, as well as a national sampling of states "to determine whether existing state laws are adequate to prosecute those responsible or these heinous acts."
Foley also asked U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to examine federal laws to see if any had been violated in the Florida case.
Carreira said her clients are still open for business and they still remain innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
"If they want to go investigate caskets and embalming, I don't have any problems with that," Carreira said. "But they should be fair and investigate everyone and not just Memorial Mortuary — all of the funeral homes. I don't think my clients should be targeted."
Correction: Sterling Lau is the lead investigator in the state attorney general's investigation of Memorial Mortuary in Hilo. Donald Wong is chief of the department's investigation division. Information in a previous version of this story was incorrect.
