Death Charged in Theft From Cemetery
Mar 30, 6:28 PM (ET)
By FRANK ELTMAN
NEW YORK (AP) - His name is Death, and prosecutors say he stole from a cemetery. Donald Death Jr., 60, of Locust Valley, was arraigned Wednesday on charges he stole nearly $300,000 from the Locust Valley Cemetery Association on Long Island.
Death, who is the chairman and assistant treasurer of the cemetery association, pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of third-degree grand larceny for allegedly using cemetery funds for his own purposes, a spokeswoman for Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon said in a statement.
Death was released on his own recognizance and was ordered back to court April 6. If convicted he would face up to 15 years in prison.
The charges follow an audit of the cemetery association that took place last summer. The audit found that Death wrote checks totaling $170,000 from the cemetery association's account to Harbor Fuel Co. Inc., at which Death served as president, CEO and 54 percent shareholder, Dillon said.
The audit also found that Death used an association employee to provide landscaping and other work on properties he and his father owned and added a family member to the association's health and dental insurance plans, prosecutors said.
The total amount of money diverted by Death was estimated at more than $293,000, Dillon said.
Death's attorney, Melvin Roth, said the entire amount has been repaid to the association. He said he was "disappointed the district attorney filed criminal charges, especially because everyone concerned has been made whole from this unfortunate incident."
He called Death an "upstanding member of the community who has served on many boards and charities" and attributed the incident to "business pressures Mr. Death was experiencing."
"We anticipate a favorable conclusion," he said.
