Galilee cemetery in Bartlett has few assets, receiver reports

June 28--Galilee Memorial Gardens in Bartlett, the subject of two multi-million-dollar civil lawsuits, has few assets, according to a document filed in the case Thursday.

Deputy receiver David Kustoff, the local representative assisting the state Department of Commerce and Insurance, which has oversight of the cemetery, submitted the report about Galilee's shortage of assets to Davidson County Chancery Court, citing accounting from financial institutions.

The report was expected to provide an update on efforts to identify the people buried in Galilee and establish a grid of the graves. However, few such details were noted in Kustoff's report because of the ongoing criminal investigation against owner Jemar Lambert.

The cemetery on Ellis Road east of Germantown Road in Barlett was closed by court order in late January. Lambert faces charges of abuse of a corpse and theft over $10,000 on accusations he mishandled bodies, stacked and crushed caskets and could not provide sufficient records regarding the location of graves on the property.

Lambert also faces another charge -- theft over $60,000 -- in connection with allegations that he encroached on adjoining property and buried bodies on land owned by a trust.

A trial date in that case is set for Aug. 25 in Criminal Court.

" ...(T)he needs of the District Attorney's investigation are paramount at this time," Kustoff said in his report. "Any independent activity by the Deputy Receiver which disturbed the crime scene would be detrimental to the investigation."

Currently, the gates of the cemetery are closed, crime scene tape surrounds the property and a law enforcement car sits at the entrance around the clock to make sure the curious stay outside of the grounds.

Kustoff said state officials subpoenaed financial information regarding Galilee from 15 financial institutions "concerning cemetery business entities or the individuals operating these entities."

"Numerous financial records have been produced in response to these subpoenas, and these records are being analyzed," Kustoff stated in the report. "To date, it appears that any assets of the cemetery will be nominal at best."

In February, the firm of Nahon, Saharovich and Trotz filed a lawsuit seeking $225 million on behalf of families whose relatives are buried in the cemetery on Ellis Road. Attorneys Howard Manis and Jimmy Blount represent another group of relatives seeking $100 million in connection with Galilee.

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