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SPRINGFIELD - The president of the company that owns Burr Oak Cemetery today expressed "outrage" at the "absolutely despicable" conduct of ex-cemetery employees alleged to have hatched a grave-selling scheme that displaced hundreds of dead people.
In his first public statement about the scandal, Melvin Bryant also extended sympathy to the families wondering if their relatives are among those moved illegally from their gravesites.
"The criminal conduct by former employees of Burr Oak Cemetery was absolutely despicable," Bryant said in a prepared statement. "I extend my heart-filled sympathies to all of those who have loved ones buried at Burr Oak Cemetery.
"I also have family members buried in the cemetery and share the same outrage toward the conduct of the individuals," Bryant said.
Bryant, CEO of Perpetua Holdings of Illinois, noted that he conducted an investigation that uncovered "financial wrongdoing" by Burr Oak's director of operations, resulting in her firing in March. Bryant said he forward those findings to "the proper authorities."
"Neither I nor Perpetua or its investors have benefited from the criminal conduct," he said. "We understand the historical importance and legacy of Burr Oak Cemetery and want to build upon it, not see it destroyed by criminal wrongdoing."
Bryant said he would have no further comment on the matter "out of respect for the ongoing criminal investigation and pending lawsuits which include me."
