A partnership including Lafayette Gatling to buy two Chicago area cemeteries bothers Roanoke Rapids Mayor Emery Doughtie.
Doughtie told rrspin.com Friday the deal, “Concerns me because we may not have been as high on his priority list as we should have been. The terms and conditions (of the contract to buy the Roanoke Rapids Theatre) have not been adhered to.”
Doughtie said if what Chicago area newspapers are reporting is accurate, then Gatling would be paying four to five times more for the cemeteries than what his monthly theater payments are. “My interest is we declared him in default. We’re working to get management or control back into our jurisdiction. The thing that bothers me is he’s not paying us.”
The Chicago Tribune reported this week the beleaguered Burr Oak Cemetery, a historic graveyard where former workers allegedly dug up graves in a scheme to resell burial plots, is on its way to having a new owner.
The paper reported Federal Bankruptcy Judge Pamela Hollis gave Cemecare LLC, which formed only two months ago, the green light Tuesday to buy Burr Oak, near Alsip, and Cedar Park Cemetery in Calumet Park.
The Tribune reported Cemecare won with the high bid of $1 million during an auction with three bidders Monday, offering $110,000 for Burr Oak and $890,000 for Cedar Park.
The Tribune further reported while the sale of Cedar Park is expected to go through within the next two weeks, the plan to buy Burr Oak is pending the approval of certain conditions that include using $700,000 in insurance funds to restore the cemetery and increase the amount of usable burial land by up to 10 acres.
If the plan isn't confirmed, Cemecare is not obligated to buy Burr Oak.
The Southtown Star paper reported Gatling Community Development, an offshoot of the South Side funeral parlor, and Willie Carter, who owns Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, formed Cemecare in late February, according to public documents. Three weeks later, they submitted a proposal to acquire the cemeteries.
Burr Oak made national headlines in July after the Cook County sheriff revealed an alleged grave reselling scandal involving hundreds of plots. Four employees were indicted and dozens of civil lawsuits poured in.
The Southtown Star described Gatling as a well known Southland entrepreneur who owns Gatling's Chapel in Chicago.
He also has a charter bus company that has leased luxury buses for Keith Sweat and Britney Spears and has developed a large site in Country Club Hills. The property, known as Sierra Ridge is home to a retirement community, a Wal-Mart and a Loews Cineplex theater.
The newspaper reported Gatling was part of the Country Club Hills group that went after the state's tenth casino license, which Illinois gambling officials ended up awarding to Des Plaines.
