N.H.'s highest court to hear Bayview case

By James A. Kimble , Staff writer
Daily News of Newburyport

—
CONCORD, N.H. - The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear why dozens of
families suing Seabrook's Bayview Crematorium for allegedly mishandling remains
shouldn't be allowed to maintain a class action lawsuit in New Hampshire.

The lawyer representing the families plans to solicit Bayview's previous
customers, but lawyers for the now-shuttered crematorium want to prevent more
clients from joining the lawsuit.

"The notice would go out to all customers in New Hampshire," said Florida lawyer
David Charlip, who now has about 160 clients in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and
Maine. "The class is going to increase."

The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the former Salisbury funeral director, viewed by prosecutors as the
figurehead of Bayview, has won another postponement for his criminal trial,
which was set to begin on Monday.

Derek Wallace, 37, will now go to trial in September for a variety of theft and
tax-fraud charges tied to the business.

Wallace won a delay just hours after his mother, Linda Stokes, 60, and her
husband, Larry, 72, pleaded guilty to felony tax-fraud charges. That plea
agreement requires the Stokeses to testify against Wallace. The couple received
suspended prison sentences in exchange for their testimony and for paying the
state $247,818 in business-profits tax. The money is due to the state by July
27.

County Attorney James Reams said yesterday the delay in Wallace's trial is one
of several the former funeral director has won over prosecutor's objections.

Wallace was arrested in July 2005, months after state police discovered Bayview
had been operating without state certification since 2000. Prosecutors say
Wallace, who sold the crematorium to his mother for $1 in 2002, knew the
business didn't maintain proper paperwork and took shortcuts in order to
increase profits. His lawyers have denied any wrongdoing by Wallace.

Charlip said the latest two convictions only add credence to claims made in the
civil cases.

"The records lack any consistency," he said. "There's numerous instances of
errors; there's fraud, there's forgeries. No one can come forward and vouch
things were done properly. Each time somebody pleads guilty - not to make a bad
metaphor - it puts another nail in their coffin."

One of Bayview's employees, former Newburyport surgeon Putnam Breed, 68, of
Hampton Falls, N.H., is still fighting to have his guilty verdicts tossed out. A
jury convicted Breed of theft and fraud-related charges for signing off on
cremations for bodies he never inspected. His new lawyers have to submit their
arguments by the end of the month.
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