CASSIDY, NPS, FOREVER FUNERAL HOMES, LINCOLN, so on and so forth......They are all the same and not alone!

This whole scandal is less than funny, but at the same time, I laugh in the faces of those involved. As a former employee of Forever, (the name of the funeral homes and cemeteries owned by the Cassidy’s) I saw this coming. Lavish spending…..unrealistic promises…..and those weekly meetings to brag about how “we” were taking down the competition. I guess taking down the competition meant bankrupting the competition by leaving them to fork out the funds to cover funerals of those who preplanned. I guess I just don’t understand….. If the common Joe goes out and files for bankrupsy protection, it is made clear that there is no way making losses from illegal activity go away, yet the Cassidy’s are filing for protection for NPS? How? They took the money, isn’t that an illegal activity? Secondly, the Cassidy’s own some of the most lavish properties, both for business and personal use…..why are these properties not seized NOW, and sold off to help the funeral homes that will be ultimately devastated by financial losses they will incur, thanks to the Cassidy’s? (Christ knows how hard they worked to buy back the shares of the corporation back in 2000 -2001 so that they could take complete control of the businesses and not have to share their information with anyone! I was there. I questioned. I was fired immediately!) I wish I could say that they were alone, but they are not. There are other funeral homes out there living off the money that people have put aside to cover their final expenses, and get away with it. Let’s face it folks……. The one’s with the money are the ones who win. If I were the betting type…… I would say the next St. Louis funeral scandal will involve an old name that has funeral homes in North County, Chesterfield and St. Peters. Their name sounds much like the way they treat their families, like butt holes! This family spent thousands to reclaim sales tax from the state, claiming burial vaults should not be taxed, yet how many families who paid sales tax received a refund from them? It is no longer a compassionate profession to many of these funeral homes. It is an opportunity to take advantage of people during an uncomfortable time. Buyer beware! Ask questions, and as ghoulish as it sounds, shop around. There are still funeral homes out there that want to take the time to help you understand, help you spend wisely, and genuinely care about you and your family. Sometimes the old saying, “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”, proves itself to be true. The questions I always tell people to ask their funeral director is: “ Who owns the funeral home? Where did the owner(s) graduate mortuary school? How many other businesses do they own?” These three simple questions will answer the real question of; “how dedicated is this funeral home?” None of the Cassidy’s are mortuary school graduates. Funerals just happen to be a quick easy way to the money needed to support their lavish lifestyle, but in their defense, they aren’t the only ones that have figured this out! My purpose and intent of getting into the funeral business 24 years ago has been negatively overshadowed in the past 10 years by funeral home owners like this. I take responsibility for allowing my own morals to be warped by employers such as this, but am proud that I have taken the action to place myself into an honest facility that still believes in tradition and honesty. I hope that in the near future I can extend one piece of advise to the Cassidy family (and the other family mentioned), and that advise would be; “don’t drop the soap!”