Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Burke cops plea; gets 24 month sentence

Richard Burke, a former funeral director at Shackelford Funeral Home, has been sentenced to 24-months and ordered to pay restitution for bank fraud and mail fraud.

According to information from the U.S. Department of Justice, Burke must pay restitution in the amount of $408,000.

Robert C. Balfe, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, said Burke entered a plea to multiple counts of mail fraud and bank fraud admitting he had schemed to embezzle funeral proceeds from customers which he diverted into a separate bank account for his personal benefit. According to Balfe, Burke embezzled about $400,000 from Horne Funeral Services, Inc. of Ashdown, the owner of Shackelford Funeral Home.

At the time of entering the plea, Burke admitted starting in 1998 and continuing into January 2003 he would periodically and illegally divert customer receipts to his personal account at the Bank of Delight as well as checks paid for burial and other funeral services provided by Shackelford Funeral Home.

During the time the embezzlement was occurring, Burke was not only the funeral director at Shackelford, he was also the Nevada County Corner.

Initially, the charges were filed against Burke and his wife, Nancy, who was later acquitted after passing a polygraph test.

The two made their initial court appearance on Jan. 23, 2004, entering pleas of not guilty to a 20-count indictment. They were originally scheduled to go to trial Monday, March 22, but the proceedings were delayed, being scheduled for June 28.

Tom Gean, with the U.S. Department of Justice said they faced up to 30 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million if convicted on all charges.

The June appearance saw Richard Burke enter a plea of not guilty with the trial set for later in the summer. However, before the trial began, Burke pled guilty to two counts of bank fraud and two counts of mail fraud. Burke faced a maximum sentence of 20 years and a maximum fine of $250,000 for the mail fraud charges and up to 30 years and a fine of up to $1 million for bank fraud.

The plea was heard by U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes, who told Burke there was no longer any chance for parole due to the charges being federal. Burke acknowledged this and entered a plea of guilty to the four counts.

Under terms of the agreement, Burke waived his right to appeal and agreed to restitution. Restitution is not limited to the four counts on which Burke pled guilty, but all 20 counts. Burke also agreed not to file for bankruptcy to avoid restitution.

Though Judge Barnes initially told Burke he would be in jail for "a long time" this won't be the case. He was sentenced to 24 months and can be released after serving 70 percent of this time.

Burke has been ordered to report to prison Jan. 19, 2005.