Richard Blumenthal (D)
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has filed a lawuit against Hamden Plains Cemetery for failing to properly mark graves and maintain the property grounds.
The suit was also filed against Christensen Cemetery Maintenance, LLC and the operator Randy Guevin. It also alleges the company made improper financial gains.
As a result of the improperly marked graves, Blumenthal claims families have had no assurances as to the locations of their loved ones and have been forced to unearth plots in order to locate them.
"This cemetery manager promised a place of peace and comfort, but aggravated grief for families already mourning the loss of loved ones," the Democratic attorney general said. "Randy Guevin nefariously
neglected his public trust at Hamden Plains Cemetery, failing to fulfill his most basic responsibilities of adequately marking graves, installing headstones and caring for cemetery grounds.
The suit also claims Guevin improperly worked for the cemetery while he served on its board of directors from April 2007 through at least February 2008.
Blumenthal alleges that Guevin has also failed to install headstones and monuments purchased by consumers within a reasonable amount of time.
"Families visiting their loved ones' final resting places were greeted by crumbling monuments, overgrown gravesites, trash, piles of plywood and uninstalled headstones. A burial ground looked more like a dumping ground, with minimal maintenance or care," Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal's suit is seeking civil penalties, restitution and an order prohibiting Geuvin from serving as sexton of any cemetery in Connecticut.