NO RESTING IN PEACE AT CEMETERY STATE PROBES HANDLING OF REMAINS.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

GLENDALE - The cremated remains of some 4,000 people were found in storage rooms, in a trash bin, spilled on a floor and mixed with others' remains at Grand View Memorial Park, state officials said Friday.

Department of Consumer Affairs officials, who discovered the remains last month during a routine inspection, halted the 121-year-old cemetery - final resting place for actors Chill Wills and Leo G. Carroll - from accepting new business and removed president Marsha Lee Howard from day-to-day operations.

``Grand View's business practices were simply abysmal,'' said Kevin Flanagan, a spokesman with the Department of Consumer Affairs. ``Marsha Lee Howard has no business operating the cemetery. They won't be able to sell new graves until the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau has resolved the issues.''

Some of the cremated remains were for people who died as long ago as the 1930s, records show. Other remains had no records and could not be identified.

Authorities allege Howard, cemetery secretary Moshe Goldsman and two trustees resold graves that had been previously sold and had ``loaned'' themselves $40,000 from the Cemetery's Endowment Care Fund, according to the administrative suspension order filed Thursday before the director of Consumer Affairs for the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau.

``These violations, while representative of the problems being uncovered by the bureau, are by no means exclusive,'' Sherrie Moffet-Bell, the bureau chief for the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, wrote in her petition.

``In order to stop the ongoing violations and to prevent future violations from occurring, an interim suspension order is necessary.''

Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of relatives of people buried at Grand View alleges that the cemetery long ago ran out of space, so remains were removed from graves, gravesite markers were discarded and graves meant for one person were used for multiple burials.

``There was a total disregard for the families they're there to serve,'' said Los Angeles attorney Mike Arias. ``Most people are devastated when their loved one dies. Then when they're buried, they're in agony and then they get past it.

``This makes them relive the death and burial again. I've had people break down in my office. They're crushed. This is pathetic.''

Howard, who lives on the property, cannot enter the cemetery offices or grounds without her attorney or a representative from the state, said Russ Heimerich, another spokesman with the Consumer Affairs Department.

Howard could not be reached for comment.

Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Goldsman declined to comment.

The cemetery will remain open, and previously arranged burials can occur, but new business has been suspended while investigators continue their probe. State and local authorities served a warrant there on Wednesday and seized records, officials said.

```We are going to go in and look at the records and reconcile the records with the remains that are there,'' Heimerich said. ``That could take a matter of many, many weeks because there are 4,000 remains.''

The cemetery was investigated in the late 1990s by the South Coast Air Quality Management District because of residents' complaints about a foul odor coming from the crematorium.

In 1999, the agency issued a notice of violation against the mortuary after finding that owners were operating crematorium ovens without a permit. The emissions were within state guidelines, but odors are considered a public nuisance by the AQMD.

``We've tried to work with (Howard), but she's been very difficult to work with,'' Glendale Councilman Bob Yousefian said. ``This is a chronic problem that's been going on for several years.''

The unannounced inspection was the first conducted at Grand View since a new law authorizing the practice was put into place about 18 months ago, officials said. Prior to the new law, officials conducted inspections only after they received a complaint.

No complaints have been made about Grand View to the Consumer Affairs Department, Flanagan said.

Howard was granted a license to operate the cemetery on Jan. 3, 1999. She was the president, director, manager and trust financial officer, documents state.

State officials expect to return to court in January to firm up the suspension, Heimerich said.

``The first priority is to clear up the mess,'' Heimerich said. ``Who is who? How do we properly inter these remains?''

Staff writers Susan Abram and Naush Boghossian contributed to this report.

Jason Kandel, [phone]

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Further burials at Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale have been halted while an investigation is conducted into possible illegal practices.

(2) An unidentified woman enters the grounds of Grand View Memorial Park on Friday.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News