The Dead Beat recently published a letter from a Missouri funeral home operator that was critical of the ‘handling of the NPS debacle’ by the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. The operator questioned how the Board could ‘allow’ his firm to sign official documents requiring that NPS contracts be honored. The official
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Formal Rulemaking: Missouri’s test of patience
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Missouri - SB1, Preneed
At its December meeting, Missouri’s State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors will seek input from licensees and consumers regarding several rulemaking proposals. The proposals were published on the Board’s website in November, with a request that comments be provided to the Board by December 2nd. This represents a prelude to the formal rulemaking process…
The Cassity Sentencing: What’s a few hundred million?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in NPS/Lincoln, Preneed
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the sentencing hearing for Doug Cassity will be held today. Originally scheduled for November 7th, the hearing was postponed when additional pleadings were filed with the Federal court. Mr. Cassity continues to dispute the extent of the damages caused by his actions. As we noted in a prior…
The Cassity Plea Agreement: Extenuating Circumstances
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in NPS/Lincoln
I have only scanned Doug Cassity’s plea agreement once, but two issues jumped out from that document. The plea agreement is based on the US Sentencing Guidelines, and Page 28 of agreement explains that the Government and the defendant did not agree as to whether guidelines relating to economic losses should be applicable …
The Right of Sepulcher and Nebraska: Giving the Preneed Contract a Higher Dignity
By Bill Stalter on
Representatives from Nebraska’s death care industry will be meeting this fall to discuss the Department of Insurance’s preneed legislative proposal, and the right of sepulcher will be among the issues for discussion.
Nebraska is among the states that have statutory provisions defining the priority of individuals who may claim the right of sepulcher (which is…
Meet Me in St.Louis: the Death Care Regulators Convention
By Bill Stalter on
Missouri’s death care regulators will play host to their peers next week when the North American Death Care Regulators Association convention is held in St. Louis. When you host a convention in NPS’ backyard, the agenda needs to include sessions on what went wrong. The final session of the agenda will catch every …
The Wulf Conviction: Defining a New Fiduciary Standard for Fund Managers?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Master Trusts, Preneed
The jury did not buy the Wulf defense, and now the former NPS fund manager faces a much, much longer prison term than Doug Cassity. To get a better understanding of the positions taken by the prosecution and the defense, we will seek briefs and jury instructions. However, the US Attorney’s press release gives some…
Coming This August: The Nuremberg Trial
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in NPS/Lincoln
Once again, I have spoken too quickly.
After lamenting to the Memorial Business Journal that the NPS plea bargains will deprive consumers and the industry the opportunity to hear how Doug and his crew perpetrated so many frauds, the sole remaining NPS defendant may grant my wish. As the Funeral Service Insider reports that Herr…
The Cassity Plea: A new shell game?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in NPS/Lincoln, Preneed
This was not the ending that most expected. After decades of playing shell games with regulators and funeral homes, Doug Cassity accepted a plea bargain rather than go to trial. Brent Cassity also accepted a plea bargain, and the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that attorneys for one of the remaining defendants were scurrying to…
The Next Installment to Missouri Preneed Oversight: Will there be a quiz?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Missouri - SB1, Preneed
My son, the 5th year senior, lamented to my wife and I a few months ago about a reading assignment given in an engineering lab. He was frustrated because the assignment would take all weekend, and the Jayhawks would be at Allen Fieldhouse that Saturday. I questioned him whether the professor had given the…