HENRY FORD DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
Metro
Grave Robbers?
States investigate cemetery owner.
Alan Hitsky
Associate Editor
M
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We Carl
ichigan and Tennessee
officials are investigat-
ing the owner of Oakview
Cemetery in Royal Oak and 27 other
Michigan cemeteries for allegedly
transferring millions of -dollars from
pre-paid burial and perpetual-care
trust funds to businesses in Oklahoma
and Nevada.
Oakview is significant because
Congregation B'nai Moshe in West
Bloomfield and Congregation Shir
Tikvah in Troy own plots there. But both
congregations say they and their funds
are not involved in the investigation.
Sharlene Ungar, B'nai Moshe execu-
tive director and a past president of
the congregation, said the synagogue
holds its own perpetual-care accounts
and sells the plots in section P and W
at Oalcview."A.11 they [Oakview] do [for
B'nai Moshe] is maintain the grounds
and open and close the graves:'
B'nai Moshe has owned sections P
and W since the 1980s. The current
owner bought Oakview and other
Michigan cemeteries in the last few
years.
Grace Laverdiere of Troy, co-chair-
man with Rich Spitzer of Shir Tikvah's
cemetery committee, said her congre-
gation purchased 12 plots at Oakview °
in 2001. She believes all 12 are now sold
and new ones are being sold by the
cemetery to Shir Tikvah members.
Laverdiere complains that the cem-
etery is "so poorly managed." She and
Spitzer have been trying to arrange a
meeting with cemetery, management
since December to update the congre-
gation's contract with Oakview. She said
new staff were put in place in February.
They have been unable to arrange a
meeting date, have not returned tele-
phone calls "and can't give me a name
or phone number for corporate head-
quarters',' Laverdiere said.
Her mother's burial was at Oakview
last year, "and they wanted me to sign
a contract that had not been filled in."
On Sunday, May 14, the unveiling of the
stone for Laverdiere's mother, Marilynn
Levett, is scheduled to be held but the
family isn't sure the headstone will be
in place. What was ordered through the
cemetery in February is scheduled to
be delivered tomorrow.
Oakview, Woodlawn in Detroit and
26 other Michigan cemeteries are
owned by Oklahoma-based Mikocem
LLC, led by gas and oil investor
Clayton Smart. Tennessee officials told
Michigan counterparts in March that .
they are investigating $40 million in
cemetery funds that they allege have
been moved to Smart's oil explora-
tion and investment companies in
Oklahoma and Nevada.
Michigan officials say Mikocem LLC
is responsible for $61 million in cem-
etery trust-fund accounts here. ❑
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