Ex-caretaker of bone-strewn cemetery charged with larceny

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A former caretaker of a Connecticut cemetery already facing charges that she allowed new graves to be placed over old graces has now been charged with profiting from the disarray.

Dale LaPrade ran Park Cemetery in Bridgeport for over a decade. Officials say about 130 graves there had been disturbed to make way for new ones.

The Connecticut Post reports LaPrade has been charged with larceny. Prosecutor David Applegate said in court Thursday that LaPrade “swindled people when they were at their most vulnerable.”

The judge set bail at $10,000, but LaPrade didn’t pay it and was ordered held. LaPrade’s attorney, Thomas Paoletta, declined to comment.

LaPrade was charged last December with felony interference with a cemetery. Complaints from relatives of those buried at the cemetery led police to search the property in September.