Funeral homes of horror

May I have your attention?

 Tabloid probe sparks spat AND response The revival of an investigation USING tabloid tactics has turned in a battle between rival funeral establishments. Allegations against NATIONAL FUNERAL HOMES provoked a response

BY the homes owned by  S.  Rafaiy  Alkhalifa:

“Has this story  been free of any whiff of Bias or has it been tainted by a vested

Interest in its outcome. The reader should be the judge.”

The custom of cozy arrangements by news tabloids that conduct investigations and then wait for police to make arrests are long gone like press BARS of yesteryear. I have never feared what tabloids may do. I came to Miami spotless, and after playing with the rabid dogs of Miami, I have acquired a spot on my pedigree. Miami does it to a lot of trusting newcomers. Move to Miami with your beautiful family and you lose them. Here people have even lost their lives. I’m contented that I'm alive and kicking. Some people make news, some people like to make news, I say to them CARRY ON Do your worst-- be vicious:  readers aghast. I do say it in the words of LAO TSU:

“KINDNESS IS IN WORDS-- CREATES CONFIDENCE KINDNESS IS IN THINKING--CREATE PROFOUNDNESS KINDNESS IS IN GIVING --CREATES LOVE.”

Today New Times have changed. This Lean New Times is a small town news section in a big city. A BIG city that does not know how to carry a BIG stick and project kindness. Thank God that New Times  influence on Miami public life  is small .Reminds me when Journalists and Hacks, whose  noisy assaults  in the home market ( with light investments of time and purse )  sat drinking with paralegals, corrupt police,  and aspiring lawyers  in the press bars  to discuss dead cases.

It was not long ago that this very New Times reporters and photographer accompanied me to visit CUBA to produce an article on CUBANS RETURNING WITH THEIR DEAD TO BE INTERRED IN CUBA.  This same New Times wrote this non compelling story which my fellow BRITS would call NINCOMPOOP- programmed to accuse. I accuse the New Times of conflict of interest in taking on its staff, a paralegal who represents the legal firm of the plaintiff in a suit against one of my companies, to use contents of a deposition (privy only to the Law firms) of a case that is still in discovery stages and has not yet been litigated in the courts. Could this information influence members of a jury pool who has now only heard one side of the story? Is the New Times seeking sensational August fillers for a readership lift? This same Tabloid would tell you that the story is a follow-up to a story of 2001 vintage? Do we need a hurricane to clear away all the BULL from New time’s vaults?  Yet they know not what they have been doing in vilifying and slandering a company that has an advertisement on the back page of the same week's paper.  The hypocrisy of  of taking ad revenue from a company that is considered so naughty  may not seem so unjustified by the New Times. In German we would say NEW TIMES SCHAFFT  SICH AB- In English it would read New Times  does away with itself.

So much for press veracity, Mr. FRANCISCO ALVARADO is trying to build a reputation of one of Miami's top investigative reporters, but by enlisting help from a law firm  with a vested interest in seeing my company's demise. In Latin I would say to him--  Honi sort qui no mal y pense (Shame on him who thinks this no evil) Is his portrayal characterably a piece of sociological fieldwork. He is an aggregator of news  (they die by the pen) who does not  source  his own story, or check facts independently. bulldozing and hacking  is not for  our times - new or old. That type of reporting I left behind in London and is the mainstay of the Rupert Murdoch  tabloid  NEWS OF THE WORLD  now being tarnished for sleazy  phone tapping  of private citizens. Now for the rebuttal ………..    MY TURN

First here is your moron of the week:  Mr. Verl Shaw

A person who may  suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, a rigid pattern of behavior that drives a lifelong quest of self gratification blue eyed self righteous, five hundred pound wheel chair bound, self appointed interceptor and overseer of the funeral industry in Miami Dade/Broward. General Manager of Allen and Shaw Crematorium located in a warehouse section in the heart of OPALOCKA . He does not own this facility, because convicted felons are not allowed by the state of Florida to operate funeral homes or crematories. It was for a while in his wife's name until she  was deceased  a few years back....A way to get around the Law.

Look into the blue eyes of this  JUMBO  and you will see a convicted child molester - a pedophile who with a group of  associates were convicted of carnal lascivious acts  against children in Tampa in the mid 80's. He came to Miami and changed his life after a stint in prison and five years of probation.  You will not find anything on this man in the criminal files as this computer

whiz big kid has been able, by some means, to hide all information of his obnoxious

criminal behavior. All  investments properties he owns have been rendered ‘judgment proof’

and placed in trust, so he cannot be sued.

Somehow his files are sealed and he has not registered as a child molester in the states list of pedophiles. Do you for any reason believe this man, that I would go into his  dirty pungent dungeon facility, a facility that looks like a blacksmith's shop  of  a century ago, (You wouldn't want to cremate your dog there)  and tell him what to do about his business of cremating human remains?  

His wife was responsible for that facility and everything that goes on there, NOT I ; NOT I, They, who own and operate the facility must double check all relevant id's and paperwork before they undertake to cremate a human body.  That  is  the law! How could I,  in my right mind, and I am indeed very SANE, try to cremate two persons in the same box and have access to someone else's facility  to perpetuate such a criminal act?

Does anyone believe this bunkum (stupidity, nonsense)? Would not two skeletons, (two skulls, four feet, two sets of the rib cages,) show up after the cremation process,? and how would I explain that if I, indeed,  tried to outwit  him (that is something the Mafia would do ) wouldn’t be incarcerated for life? If I played that role, the FBI and all law enforcement agencies would be on my sweet little derriere.

M. Shaw, however, has been placing two bodies wrapped in cellophane  into one box to  save space in his coolers for the deceased. Made sense to him as he lacked cooler space in the early years of his business. I witnessed that act repeatedly.

Mr. Shaw, who has been the recipient of a  Dade county contract to cremate  the indigent, (people with no means), has now lost his very lucrative contract -because of greed, hiking the price he charged the County. He was also accused by  Dade county of double billing indigent families for transportation of human remains.

Remember this word  INDIGENT = POOR

A Broward funeral establishment has been successful in bidding for the contract.

Now Mr. Shaw is nursing three cold cremation units with no work as most Funeral establishments will not do business with his facility.  He sells his services for $495

for a cremation service. My company offers cremation process services for $395  in a very modern clean facility  where you could literally eat off the floor -  I  mean it's that clean.

Does anyone out there understand why this blue eyed JUMBO would be interested in my demise even when I was his client prior to 2001, bringing to him over 40 cases per month?  He  grudgingly wanted that business for himself. He has complained to the State  Dept of FINANCIAL SERVICES  (who overseas this industry) on every  competitor  and tries to put them out of business.

-He has not been successful in doing that to me . -

Somehow calling me a scumbag  does not fit Mr. Shaw-- Pox on you. Please Invite the public to examine your facilities -They will certainly PUKE. An investigation into this affair, as notified by Shaw  to the  State, went nowhere NADA .

The story of Yetsiel - the young man who committed suicide off a five story building.

His body face, badly disfigured, was a closed casket funeral,  and the body sent to a storage facility owned by Memorial plan  SERVICE CORPORATION  with whom I contracted to store deceased remains for shipment overseas and for cremation services.

Unfortunately  the wrong remains was removed from the cooler facility by an employee who did not read or understand Spanish. The licensed operator of the crematorium who is Hispanic was not at work that day and procedures were not followed by their staff. Identifications placed on the remains by the medical examiner's office were not checked and rechecked as it is the norm.

A mistake happened, and instead of paying the family for the mistake, SCI Memorial Plan, owners of the facility known as Gold coast crematorium, is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting the case with the  high priced law firm of HUDSON in the city of Miami.  This is the same company, SCI,  that gave you the horrible story of staff digging graves in the Jewish cemeteries  ( MENORAH) in Broward and Palm Beach, and tossing the bones in the forested area and reselling the grave sites by a manager who committed suicide .

 Black is  Black no doubt about it.

This case is in the course of depositions, and  Memorial Plan which has now changed their name to DIGNITY,  will spend half a million dollars to defend , instead of settling with the family, the same monies they are spending paying high priced lawyers.

The depositions regarding this case are private until trial , yet information of these depositions found their way in the horror article of this tabloid . Unethical I say ? Imagine your legal depositions been licked out by the plaintiff’s assistant to the media. Second moron of the week :

Gabriel Bello 

Convicted thief, many times Batterer of women, arrested and convicted numerous times for  Battery,  was terminated not because he was owed monies, but because he, with unfailing regularity would pad his time sheet and rob the company of its purse.

He was confronted finally and told to redo his time sheets.

Flew into a rage, broke down a door in my establishment, and the police  took him away.

The battered woman in his last foray to prison was the facility cleaner who had just arrived from Cuba,  and he met her WHERE? at the funeral establishment. Mr. Bello, with unfailing regularity was warned by myself to stop sexually harassing the women who cleaned my facilities. The non fact he stated that cleaning women were not paid. Hogwash >The management and working staff of all my facilities are women,  from the general manager to the cleaner, --all women-- payroll prepared by payroll company.

 Would  my general manager - a highly regarded woman, working there for 10 years,  short change a fellow Cuban woman?  I don’t think so. His info about myself and my companies, paraded in these pages, are nothing but blather. This man is totally uneducated, never even attended a primary school. Hardly speaks any language properly. It is known in the annals of Business Management of small and large enterprises, that  employee mistakes could ruin a company, its finances, its very existence.  REMEMBER VALUE JET? 

I AM, INDEED, A VICTIM OF THIS PROBLEM. And so are  many other business owners in Miami.

Serving over  750 families per year , we do have times where mistakes are made by employees, and for that,  I take full responsibility. I have paid my dues in that respect, much to my chagrin. Five complaints per year that are always fully investigated by the Dept of Financial Services, and we are asked to resolve them.

A few ended up in court, ,but they were resolved  to mutual understanding at mediation. That  is why the courts order a mediation. Claimants wanting hundreds of thousands of dollars  never  got more than dimes on the dollar.

 FOR YOUR INFORMATION:  OVER 75 SUITS WERE AGAINST FLORIDA FUNERAL HOMES IN 2009.  TWO WERE AGAINST MY FACILITIES, AND MOST OF THE FUNERAL HOMES PERFORM LESS THAN 250 CASES PER YEAR, WE ARE IN THE 750 RANGE. NOT A BAD AVERAGE, BUT, OF COURSE,  I WOULD PREFER NONE.

Mr. Porter,  who contributed to the article,  has been trying to sue everyone connected with the death of his so called aunt (no relationship was ever established). He sued a transportation company for close to a million dollars for a fall  she received while being transported in an ambulance, claiming the fall as the reason of death. Court records show he got a big donut. 

Next, he claimed that my company delivered her cremains (ASHES)  to the wrong party. The party who presented identification for the receipt of cremains is presumed dead, but all documentation leads to the fact that the dead person, who walked into our establishment, ( Dead man walking ) hailed from the same city in Columbia, (Medellin,) where  the deceased and all of her family originated. They even said it was a coincidence.

Someone calling to pick up the ashes claiming to be a son, showed up with fake ID and then the family told us it wasn't  a family member who received the ashes. That Porter, or whatever he calls himself, PUERTAS, RESTREPO,   or other names he may have used,  was  domiciled for some time in the same locales that the  dead man walking lived,  in Massachusetts, then later moved to Florida , and guess what?  Mr. Puertas (Porter ) also lived in MASS and then moved to MIA.  Some coincidence! 

Why in the world would anyone who is not related to a deceased person would want to recover the ashes of  a person unknown to him/her?  MR. Porter's former attorney requested a settlement 3 years ago from our  struggling company of half a million dollars. He settled for $41,000  two weeks ago , the cost of bringing the suit. I personally  felt robbed, the total cost with legal fees $90,000-- but I must move on. I felt I was scammed. Mr. Porter tried to suppress information we discovered, that his aunt was incarcerated in the mid 80's  with 25 other defendants, charged by the FEDS with cocaine distributing, trafficking,  and money laundering.  Guess who bailed her out of Federal prison  --no other than MR. Clean himself,  GEORGE PORTER PUERTAS Or whatever his name is.  Trying to get rich on Mrs. Vega's deceased remains.

His ex wife stated he worked with the immigration dept. The documents of the dead man walking  who  recovered the ashes presented  immigration papers dating 1994, when I was not even in the funeral business. How we would come to fake a Columbian Medellin born individual and then present that ID to support our case?  It is definitely not believable  -- utter nincompoop.  Under what circumstances would I have been able to recover immigration documents from a Columbian person who died in 1994 and who was in Mass.  and Florida?  Mr. Porter was in those territories at those times.  “Birds of a feather flock together,” they say, for myself knowing anyone from Medellin Columbia is hard to put.

I am  putting to you my readership that Mr. Porter  knows something else transpired in this episode  and I will find the missing link – I’m not finished.  Amen.

Another person who provokes a response from me is this Mr. Torres.

Mr. Torres could not afford the burial of his father. He literally had NO MONEY. His sister, who is employed by an attorney,  paid for a direct burial for his father.  A  direct burial, for your information,  is exactly what it states,  --no visitation--   no preparation of the  deceased. The same condition he is when removed  from the forensic department, that is the way he is placed in a casket and transported to  the cemetery where the funeral director meets with the family,  NO SERVICES WHATSOEVER. 

Miss Torres asked if she could have a few minutes to ID her father. We granted her request at no cost. Her contract specifically stated everything we were to perform which she signed and received a copy. GUESS WHAT? Over 60,   well dressed persons,  showed up at the funeral for a Funeral Service.  What funeral?  She did not buy the services for a funeral,  an ID is not a Funeral Service.

First, her father was brought in  and placed in a  metal casket for a regular person of,  say,  250 pounds. His weight was 350 and more pounds, no one told us he was overweight, he  could hardly be placed in a regular casket. His abdomen was touching the top of the casket. We were forced to remove the metal bed that is in a casket and lower him all the way to the bottom flooring of the casket.  Did he fit?   --barely.  Was his body prepared for a viewing by 60 persons? NO . When we protested that the service now requested  could not take place,   they fell into a rage. I thought they were ready to lynch myself and staff. They were noisy -they were ugly. Called the police, but the police could do nothing,   as the police officer reviewed the contract and  confirmed to the family that what they were asking for,  was indeed not in the contract and not paid for. Four hours later,  after having accommodated them and fixed the remains to a viewable position,  they left.  Still,

Mr. Torres wanted his sister's money back. The sister did not request a refund,  it was him who wanted monies he had not paid. Remember Miss Torres works for an attorney.  She kept on telling me that she worked for an attorney, “ I work for an attorney.”  I must say that she was  a rather decent person to deal  with.  After suing my company and litigating for 4 years, they wanted $100,000, they settled for $2,500. (And she works for a lawyer.)

Mr. Torres: What have you done for the Cuban community- your community- since you attained manhood? Anything at all?

Yes! The Cuban people loves me. I am the one who, since 1995, has buried, not cremated all the Balseros and Balseras who died on the shores of Florida and Mexico.  I am the one who takes care of all the political prisoners of Cuba who are now dying every week because of their age. I am the one who buried all of the  dead who were washed ashore with Elian Gonzalez.  All of these services were performed by my companies and staff for FREE, GRATIS, FOR NOTHING!  They went to Cuban owned Funeral establishments and what they got was a big NO for an answer. Cuban Funeral Homes Owners die very rich.

What do Cuban owned Funeral establishments do for their community in terms of helping when death comes?  ZERO, ZILCH,  NADA.   Yes Mr. TORRES,  I am the only Funeral establishment that flies a CUBAN FLAG,  and I am proud of it. YES, MR. TORRES, I am not Cuban and why  PRAY TELL ME, SIR-- WHY is it that the Cuban community comes to me,  a  NON CUBAN  for services everyday of the year for 15 years?  PORQUE HOMBRE?  BECAUSE I DO NOT TURN THEM AWAY  FOR A LACK OF MONEY.   I HELP THEM IN WHATEVER WAY I COULD.   I,  SIR ,  FEEL CLOSER TO THE CUBAN COMMUNITY  THAN I DO FEEL FOR PEOPLE OF MY OWN COUNTRY, AND I HAVE PROVEN IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I  CONSIDER MYSELF, SIR ,TO BE AN HONORARIO CUBANO. I DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE OTHER CUBAN OWNED FUNERAL HOMES  - I DO NOT COUNT THEIR MONEY, HOWEVER THEIR JEALOUSIES  AND THEIR DESIRE TO SEE ME GONE IS WHAT I CONSIDER A FEATHER IN MY CAP. I MUST BE DOING SOMETHING GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY--- I COMPETE  FAIR AND SQUARE- THE AMERICAN WAY. THEY SHOULD ACCEPT THAT. I'M HERE TO STAY - COMPETE WITH ME. 

ALL MY MANAGEMENT AND MAJORITY OF STAFFING ARE WOMEN AND CUBAN, WHO KNOW THEIR  PEOPLE.  THEY WOULD NEVER ALLOW ME , IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM,  ABUSE THE FAMILIES THAT WALK THRU OUR DOORS . I DO MAKE THE BEST CUBAN COFFEE (SO THEY SAY) TAKE THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT----- MR. TORRES. And to make you rest in peace Mr. Torres, this business of selling low cost funerals is not a profitable venture. Never has, and now more than ever with cremations hitting over 60%. I have invested my family's PURSE in this adventure,  and I will never get it back. It’s  not about me, it has never been about me , its about serving our people, the Latin people,  and I am Latin, Sir. I WAS BORN IN SOUTH AMERICA,  I speak your language and everyone  else's.

The reason your family chose my company to inter your father, is because you were recommended and you knew you were paying much less than other Cuban funeral establishments -  You chose us after canvassing prices. You had issues with us  and for this I am truly sorry.  You did receive services for what you paid, and now your sister is getting back what you paid my company.  In fact,  I got nothing for providing services and merchandise. My loss,  your gain.

Finally,  in terms of the pre need debacle  wherein I was taken to court, no families lost any monies. The company was owned by my former wife.  However, I took responsibility and all moneys have been paid back, and  as I said earlier,  I had put the trust of running a PRE NEED program to a person I had met at GRACELAND CEMETERIES. This Man a JUAN RAMOS has STOLEN MONIES from Lady of Mercy CEMETERIES, SOUTHERN MEMORIAL,  and GRACELAND CEMETERIES, where he worked before the advent of my company. He stole from my former wife company BIG TIME, a calculating schemer and fraudster, and vagabond, even defrauded his employees, who defrauded Cuban families and gave the money to him to stash in a fraudulent account he created. He now lives in a million dollar home in Coconut Grove bought with  stolen funds , and lucky for him, Florida protects CROOKS of  every hue and color by something called the Homestead act. Even if my former wife receives a judgment against him, she cannot be repaid.   One thing for sure,  he will die in that house. He cannot move. I took the fall for that vagabond who still works in  the Financial field, selling insurance  --but its not my job to police that RAT. HE WORKS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE DEPT OF INSURANCE. As I mentioned  earlier,  IF you have a business BIG or Small,  your employees could take you down  by mistakes, and they do . I AM A VICTIM. Remember doctors ,hospitals restaurant, car dealers, dentists, psychoanalysts, teachers, LAWYERS,  schools, and  governments  are sued. Mistakes are made  and the piper pays ...that does not mean we all do not strive to do better. WE do, WE fail sometimes,  and when we fail,  we do not expect that it be heralded on TV TABLOIDS.  THE RIGHTEOUS MEDIA WHICH ITSELF GETS SUED ALL THE TIME FOR LIBEL AND SLANDER, AND WHICH ALWAYS RUN A CORRECTIONS COLUMN.  EVERY COMPLAINT PRESENTED IN THIS MEDIA NEW TIMES ARTICLE WAS INVESTIGATED BY THE STATE AND WERE ANSWERED BY MY COMPANIES. MOST OF THE TIME  THEY WERE DISMISSED,  NO ACTION TAKEN . DO THEY DO THEIR JOB OF OVERSEEING THIS INDUSTRY?  ( NEW TIMES DUG UP THESE CASES FROM 1996- OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLE) YES! AND THAT'S WHY EVERY FUNERAL ESTABLISHMENT MUST HAVE IN ITS FACILITY  --A COMPLAINT BOOK AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. MY FACILITIES HAVE IT  AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE.  SINCE JANUARY 2010   NO COMPLAINTS THAT WERE NOT ADDRESSED INTERNALLY, LEFT OUR EARS.

ALICIA ORTEGA OF YESTERYEAR NBC, THE LAST NEWS PERSON THAT PRESENTED AN NBC  OVERVIEW ABOUT MY OPERATION WITHOUT A RIGHTEOUS HAND OF FAIR PLAY , WAS FIRED  FOR CONCOCTING A STORY FOR RATINGS WEEK PROMOTED BY HER FATHER, REVEREND RAY ORTEGA, AFTER I COMPLAINED THAT HE WAS SENDING DRUNKEN DECONS TO MY FUNERAL HOMES TO CONDUCT RELIGIOUS FUNERAL SERVICES.  NOW SHE HAS BEEN  HUSTLING  A JOB SOMEWHERE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. SHE SAID SHE LEFT HER WELL PAYING JOB TO BE WITH HER FAMILY--THAT INTERNATIONAL EXCUSE WHEN SOMEONE IS FIRED WITH ALMOST EXTREME PREJUDICE.

There are Jihadists in our city, no better definition for them  They hate reason, they hate intellect, they hate life and everything in it  A certain amount of self regard is healthy but when narcissism is pathological -the results can be frightening . There are symptoms, but there is no cure!

 MY NAME IS RAFAIYALKHALIFA AND I APPROVE OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT.

IT WAS WRITTEN BY ME AND IF I HAVE OFFENDED ANYONE HERE WITH THE FACTS -SUE ME.  I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY. MY BOOK ABOUT THE SHANINANIGANS OF THIS INDUSTRY AND THE HIGHWAY ROBBERY OF FAMILIES IS IN THE MAKING.  MY COMPETITION AND DETRACTORS  WILL WANT TO KILL ME AFTER THEY HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY.  AMEN

QUAD ERAT DEMONSTRATUM