Gravedigger Arrested for Removing Corpses and Reselling Their Burial Sites

Some deceased people’s eternal rest was interrupted by an enterprising gravedigger. According to a press release, cops in Sicily, Italy, arrested a gravedigger accused of removing corpses from gravesites and reselling the plots to others.

As a result of a two-year investigation, a former undertaker of a city cemetery was arrested along with one of his employees on charges of corruption and extortion. Additionally, three funeral companies in Trapani were banned from operating their business.

Investigators alleged that the gravedigger conspired with those three mortuaries to carry out burials, exhumations, and transfers. In exchange, he offered his alleged conspirators a cut of the profit.

Officials claimed that the accused would promise quick burials in exchange for cash. The exchange was referred to as “coffee for the gravedigger.”

The man is also accused of conspiring with bricklayers, citizens, and florists amid his scheme. According to The Guardian, police also searched the home of a forensic pathologist, who is accused of falsely certifying the decomposition of corpses. That, police alleged, made room for new bodies to be buried in their place.

On top of the alleged scheme, the gravedigger is accused of stealing items such as gold jewelry from the corpses.

Inside the Gravedigger’s Alleged Crimes

Following the investigation, 25 cases, including 10 corruption incidents, were documented. Some private citizens are accused of making a pact with the undertaker to ensure “accelerated” burial procedures in exchange for cash.

The alleged plot is likely in response to Italy’s lack of tombs and spaces for urns in cemeteries. The situation has become a major problem in the country.

Police have yet to comment on what happened to the bodies that were removed to make way for others.

However, CBS News, citing reports from local media, stated that one family found their loved one’s corpse in a bag in another part of the cemetery.

The outlet additionally noted that cemeteries in mafia-laden parts of Italy are often controlled by the crime syndicate or by corrupt officials.