Bodies Dug Up, Graves Resold at Burr Oak Cemetery

The dead walk in Illinois

(Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyberuly/ / CC BY 2.0)

Businesses are having a rough go of it during this recession. Sure, you can perform a service for a client or sell them a product, but what happens after that? In order to maintain cash flow, there has to be repeat business, or at least good word of mouth that draws new customers in. If they don’t get it, they’ll need a cash loan or two to generate the necessary operating revenue. Cash loans aren’t a long-term solution, however.

But what about cemeteries?

You’re operating within a finite amount of space, so you don’t have room for an endless string of customers. And repeat business? That isn’t exactly how the game is played. Unless you’re Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Il. There, some employees dig the bodies up and resell the plots. Which is, of course, illegal. They had been paid for; certain employees just wanted to survive the recession by any means necessary.

Digging up the details… unnecessarily

Lolly Bowean, Steve Schmadeke and Alena Scarver report for the Chicago Tribune that there were five employees of Burr Oak Cemetery taken into police custody after the illegal grave reselling activities were discovered. Detectives found piles of bones from over 100 bodies above ground in an open, fenced-off part of Burr Oak. It is believed that the conspirators made over $300,000 off their disgraceful activities. They reused old plots so that the number of vacant graves wouldn’t change on the books. They also didn’t alter the names in their books. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Bodies Dug Up, Grav es Resold at Burr Oak Cemetery"