Second set of books reflects more accurate record of burials at Galilee, records state

Feb. 04--Financial deficiencies have plagued Galilee Memorial Gardens for some time, and the cemetery kept a second set of records reflecting multiple burials in the same grave, according to the search warrant and court documents associated with the investigation.

That second set of books, outlined in the search warrant for the troubled Bartlett cemetery and its offices, may provide a more accurate picture of where bodies are located at the 9-acre cemetery on Ellis Road east of Germantown Road. Bookkeeping records indicate financial troubles led to state officials seeking more than $31,000 in payments last September to fund the operation's improvement care trust.

The information emerges as state officials prepare for a hearing Monday in Davidson County seeking to take over the troubled cemetery. The hearing for the petition to appoint the state Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance as receiver of the cemetery is set in Chancery Court.

Activities at Galilee have come under scrutiny recently after Jemar Lambert was charged in connection with burying multiple caskets in the same grave. Some of those caskets, according to court documents, were crushed by heavy equipment to make more room in the plots for more coffins.

That led to charges of theft of property over $1,000 and abuse of a corpse filed against Lambert. While those charges are associated with three bodies buried last March, authorities indicate there may be similar situations at the cemetery. Lambert also faces previous criminal charges for burying bodies on adjoining property.

When two witnesses -- Derrick Gunn of Gunn Funeral Home in Little Rock, Ark. and Rodney Williams of Signature Funeral Services on Knight Arnold -- went to Galilee in October, they noticed the multiple coffins in graves. In the cemetery office, an employee showed the witnesses the burial book, which they considered the most accurate recording of where bodies were supposedly buried. When Gunn noticed the records reflected some locations were unoccupied, he asked an employee why multiple bodies were in some graves if others were empty.

"According to Williams and Gunn, in an attempt to explain the current operating procedures at Galilee, (the employee) used a computer in the Galilee office to produce a list of graves," the search warrant narrative states. " ... The list showed that multiple graves at Galilee in the 'Devotion Garden' contained two, three and four caskets each.

"(The employee) informed Gunn and Williams that the second set of records was the more current set of records and more accurately reflected the current state of the cemetery."

Those records showed the remains of Kathleen Cross, William Davis and Gladys Finley -- all handled by Williams and Signature last March -- were put in the same grave, and not in Devotion 107 D2, Devotion 107 D4 and Devotion 108 C1 as Galilee personnel had told Williams after the services.

Lambert also conducted business from multiple bank accounts, disbursing or transferring funds from the accounts "to cover deficiencies in Galilee's improvement care trust fund" -- money required under state law to improve and maintain the cemetery.

In court filings associated with Thursday's hearing, the state says an audit of that account in September reflected a shortfall, leading officials to direct Lambert to deposit $26,581 immediately, plus another $4,951 by Sept. 30, 2013 for a total of $31,532.50 by that point.

Galilee eventually deposited $31,000 into the account by Oct. 24, 2013, falling short of the deficiency, and has not made another deposit, even though there were more burials there, which would have meant more funding based on a formula set by the state.

___

(c)2014 The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.)

Visit The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.) at www.commercialappeal.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services