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Chicago:4 charged after bodies dug up at Ill. cemetery


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Family members search for the graves of relatives at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Ill., on Thursday. Authorities say graves were discovered dug up and bodies dumped into unmarked mass graves in an alleged scheme to resell the plots. Lake County Juvenile Justice: Aaron, Ayryana, MarieChicago grave dumping allegationsVacation rental scams on the risePolice: Man held ex-wife hostage of digging up bodies at cemetery "Special Place in Hell" for Grave Robbers

 

ALSIP, Ill. - Four workers at a historic cemetery that is the final resting place for many famous blacks have been charged with taking part in a scam in which employees dug up and dismembered bodies, dumped them into unmarked mass graves and then resold the plots to unsuspecting members of the public, authorities said. Carolyn Towns, 49, Keith Nicks, 45, and Terrence Nicks, 39, all of Chicago, and 61-year-old Maurice Dailey of Robbins, were charged Thursday with one count each of dismembering a human body, a felony. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said officers found "startling and revolting" conditions at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, a Chicago suburb

 

ALSIP, Illinois (CNN) -- Four people face felony charges after authorities discovered that hundreds of graves were dug up and allegedly resold at a historic African-American cemetery near Chicago, Illinois, authorities said Thursday.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said the four would resell the plots in Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, excavate the graves, dump the remains and pocket the cash.

"This was not done in a very, very delicate way, folks," he told reporters at a news conference Thursday.

"They would excavate a grave and would proceed to dump the remains wherever they found a place to do it in the back of the cemetery. This was not moving graves; this was not replacing graves; this was dumping of them."

In some cases, graves were stacked on top of each other, they "literally pounded the other one down," Dart said. In all about 300 graves may have been dug up in the cemetery, he said.

Authorities identified those charged as Carolyn Towns, an office manager for the cemetery; and Keith Nicks, Terrance Nicks and Maurice Daley, all gravediggers.

Each has been charged with dismembering a human body, a felony charge for which sentences range from 6 to 30 years, Anita Alvarez, Cook County state's attorney, said at the news conference.

Steven Watkins, an attorney for Towns, said his client is innocent. "Somebody is apparently making false accusations against my client," he said. "She's maintaining her innocence."

The Cook County state attorney's office said the other three charged were being represented by the public defender's office, and a message left at that office was not immediately returned.

Bail was set at $250,000 for Towns and $200,000 for the other three, Alvarez said. None had posted bail by late afternoon Thursday, the sheriff's department said. video.gif Watch officials announce the charges »

It was not immediately known if the four had legal counsel.

Authorities began investigating the cemetery -- where, among others, lynching victim Emmett Till, blues legend Dinah Washington and some Negro League baseball players are buried -- about six weeks ago after receiving a call from its owners who had concerns about possible "financial irregularities" regarding the business, Dart told CNN earlier this week.

"This crime, it's a whole new dimension," Alvarez said. Authorities also suspect that Towns pretended to set up a memorial fund for Till and pocketed the funds, Dart said. video.gif Watch sheriff discuss gruesome revelation »

He told CNN that groundskeepers, who have not been implicated in the scheme, have said that the grave of Till -- whose 1955 lynching at age 14 helped spark the civil rights movement -- has not been disturbed.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was also at the news conference, noted the high-profile names of some of those buried in the cemetery, but said, "everybody here is special, and every family has special needs and special hurt, special grief."

Most of the excavations occurred in back lots, where the plots were older and not frequently visited, Dart said earlier this week. However, other plots may have been disturbed, as well.

The cemetery's current owners, who could not be reached by CNN for comment, have operated it for more than five years but are not believed to be involved in the alleged scam, Dart said.

He said the workers may have doctored records to cover their tracks and noted that the cemetery holds all the records of who is buried and where.

"There's virtually no regulations whatsoever (for cemeteries)," Dart said. "Most all of the documents and everything are housed here."

Investigators are trying to determine the scope of the alleged scheme and plan to use thermal-imaging devices to further examine other graves to see if they have been tampered with, Dart said.

The FBI, forensic scientists and local funeral directors have been called in to help in the investigation, he said.

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I got some flicks of my own of this shit. It was a circus, and i could have popped 5 capps in the back of jesses head if i wanted too. I was 3 ft away. Unfortunately, I was late, and most of the hot newswoman were gone already. Damn.. Heres some flicks

gravediggers002.jpg?t=1247175431

gravediggers003.jpg?t=1247175477

gravediggers004.jpg?t=1247175512

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Guest Ginger Bread Man

that nigga jesse is everywhere. shit aint have nothing to do with him. wasnt he just at the mj mourning?

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