CLEARFIELD – A former Reynoldsville man previously accused of not delivering grave markers to his clients waived his right to a preliminary hearing on new charges Wednesday.
Edmund A. Grenier Jr., 70, an inmate of state prison, is already charged with 30 counts each of deceptive business practice, theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds in one case and in two additional cases he is facing one count each of these same charges.
The new charges are 17 felony counts each of deceptive business practices, theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and seven misdemeanor counts of these same charges.
Grenier is currently serving a state prison sentence of 20 to 40 years from a probation violation in Jefferson County that he was given in September of 2015.
According to the latest affidavit of probable cause, 24 different victims paid for items, such grave site markers, granite bases, bronze memorial plaques, bronze vases and bronze scrolls to be installed at Crown Crest Cemetery in Lawrence Township that were never delivered. The total value of these is more than $56,000.
These records were obtained after a district judge issued a search warrant for Grenier Enterprises Inc., Lakelawn Memorial Park and Crown Crest Cemetery. Another warrant was issued to obtain information on three bank accounts for the businesses. Two of these had a balance of only $8.03 and the third had $95.11 in it. None of these accounts had an average balance to fulfill these orders.
According to online court records, in July Jefferson County Judge John Foradora ordered that all accounts in the name of Lakelawn Memorial Park or Crown Crest Memorial Park be closed and reopened by attorney Jeffrey M. Gordon. The cemeteries were to be sold to pay the debts of the business.
Grenier was scheduled to go to trial in February on the previously mentioned cases but that trial was continued. It is now scheduled for early 2017 and may include these new charges.
Over the past few years, Grenier has been charged several different times in both Clearfield County for Crown Crest Cemetery and in Jefferson County for Lakelawn Memorial Park for his failure to deliver products to his customers, according to previously published reports.
In January of 2015, he pleaded guilty in Clearfield County on two, separate cases to felony counts of deceptive business practice, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and theft by deception. Prior to that on Aug. 27, 2013, he pleaded guilty to deceptive business practices.
He pleaded guilty to two cases with the same charges in Jefferson County.
Grenier’s ex-wife, Brenda Grenier is charged with 30 counts each of deceptive or fraudulent business practices, theft by deception, and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and two counts of theft by unlawful taking in one case and with one count each of deceptive business practices, theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds in two other cases.
Brenda Grenier was identified as the secretary and treasurer of Grenier Enterprises Inc. as well as Crown Crest Cemeteries. In June of 2014, she withdrew $7,577.55 from the business account.
She admitted she took the funds because Edmund Grenier had stopped paying her a regular salary from the business. Brenda Grenier has not been associated with the day-to-day operation or maintenance of the business since 2011, according to the criminal complaint.