Big Island mortuary owners indicted
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — The owners of a Big Island mortuary were indicted yesterday on 39 counts of theft for allegedly selling funeral plans without a license and not maintaining a trust account to protect the money.
A grand jury issued the indictments against Robert Diego, his wife, Momi, and their daughter, Bobbie Jean, and their companies, Diego Mortuary Inc. and Memorial Mortuary Plan Inc., for activities between Jan. 1, 1989, and Feb. 28 of this year.
The charges do not involve allegations that the mortuary buried corpses in body bags instead of caskets that had been purchased.
The Diegos have denied those and other complaints stemming from an investigation by the state attorney general's office, and have said the business is not selling funeral plans anymore. They say an embittered former employee went to authorities with a series of allegations.
Bobbie Jean Diego said yesterday the family would not comment on the indictments until they meet with their attorney, Brenda Carreira, who was out of town.
Investigators earlier conducted surveys of several grave sites to check for the presence of caskets and seized records from the mortuary. The three Diegos were arrested in March and held overnight on suspicion of theft, but were released without being charged.
Deputy Attorney General Ricky Roy Damerville said yesterday that the indictment charges the Diegos with 39 counts of theft, which involve "a continuing course of conduct" that persisted for 13 years.
The mortuary owners are accused of failing to obtain a state license to sell funeral plans and not establishing a trust fund to protect customers' money. Following news reports of the investigation earlier this year, a number of clients sought refunds and some were not reimbursed immediately, Damerville said.
A similar series of civil charges was brought against the mortuary Oct. 2 by the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. The 16-count complaint seeks a $10,000 fine for each violation.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura ordered that the Diegos each post a $2,000 bail bond after they are served with bench warrants, presumably tomorrow, Damerville said.
Arraignments will be conducted in early December.
