NIROPE PRICES, NOBODY!"
(HE)
NOW -- A TARGET 12 INVESTIGATORS
EXCLUSIVE ...
"GRAVE CONCERNS."
(MM)
IT'S BEEN YEARS SINCE WE'VE BEEN
INSIDE THE CONDEMNED----- ROGER
WILLIAMS PARK MAUSOLEUM...
AND THE SITUATION, HAS ONLY
GOTTEN WORSE.
it has to be addressed. And the
sooner the better
(HE)
TONIGHT WE'RE RETURNING TO THAT
EERIE SITE IN CRANSTON -- WHERE
HUNDREDS OF BODIES REMAIN
TRAPPED INSIDE A CRUMBLING
BUILDING ...
(MM)
AND WE'RE HEARING FROM A LOCAL
FUNERAL DIRECTOR -----WHO HAS A
NEW PLAN TO REMOVE *ALL* OF THE
REMAINS---- ONCE AND FOR ALL.
TARGET 12 INVESTIGATOR SUSAN
CAMPBELL JOINS US NOW WITH
------THE EXCLUSIVE NEW DETAILS
SHE'S UNCOVERED.
IT'S ALMOST HARD TO SEE THE
MAUSOLEUM BECAUSE THE TREES AND
PLANTS ARE SO OVERGROWN.
BUT BEHIND THE BRUSH, THE
BUILDING IS CRUMBLING.
THE SITUATION HAS GOTTEN SO BAD,
IT HAS LANDED ON THE DESK OF
RHODE ISLAND'S TOP LAWMAKER
OPEN CASKETS...
CRUMBLING STONE
DRIPPING WATER...
IT WASN'T LIKE THIS - JUST 20
YEARS AGO... (shot of 1998
vault)
00:15:09 it wasn't managed very
well
GREGG MIERKA.... IS THE CHAIR OF
THE Cranston Historical
Cemeteries Commission..
00:17:13 the bodies in the
building are probably going to
have to be moved to another site
and the building is probably
going to have to be demolished.
it's a sad ending.
THE MAUSOLEUM WAS BUILT IN THE
1920S...
WHEN THE OWNERS DIED IN THE
EARLY 2000S... THEY DIDN'T LEAVE
MONEY TO CARE FOR IT.
THE PROPERTY'S RECEIVER ARGUED
THE STATE AND THE CITY SHOULD BE
RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.
NEITHER WANTED TO CLAIM IT AND
ULTIMATELY... THE JUDGE ORDERED
THE THE MAUSOLEUM ABANDONED.
GM - 00:03:26 it's like kicking
the can down the road, and
eventually the building is going
to get so bad, major portions of
the building are going to start
falling in. :34
OVER THE YEARS.....
Nats: october 2014 pkg
... THERE HAVE BEEN EFFORTS TO
TRY TO REMOVE THE BODIES. ..
WE WERE THERE... IN 2014 WHEN
CLAIRE BERKOVITZ'S FATHER'S
REMAINS WERE RESCUED FROM THE
CONDEMNED BUILDING.
NATS: october 2014 pkg
BUT SOON AFTER... THE PROPERTY
WAS FORGOTTEN AGAIN..
BY EVERYONE BUT TRESPASSERS
WHO'VE OPENED CASKETS AND STOLEN
FROM THE DEAD....
00:12:20 that's desecration of
human remains. :23
ANNETTE BERARDUCCI'S FAMILY OWNS
TWO FUNERAL HOMES IN RHODE
ISLAND.
SHE SAYS... THEY HAVE A NEW PLAN
TO GET THE BODIES OUT.
SC - 00:11:00 what would it take
to get the remains that are
inside this mausoleum out?
AB - 00:12:07 it would take the
cooperation of the state. The
cooperation of the city. :14
SC - What do you need from the
state and the city? :16
AB - Some engineers, some
laborers some funds. :20
00:15:46 we could get started
immediately. It wouldn't take
very long :51
IT'S UNCLEAR EXACTLY HOW MANY
BODIES REMAIN INSIDE - BUT COURT
DOCUMENTS SAY 527 PEOPLE WERE
LAID TO REST THERE.
ACCORDING TO PREVIOUS ESTIMATES
- IT COSTS 6-THOUSAND DOLLARS...
TO DISENTER AND REINTER A SINGLE
BODY...
WHICH MEANS - THE TOTAL COST
COULD SOAR PAST 3 MILLION
DOLLARS.
00:11:38 not millions of
dollars. Not millions of
dollars. :40
BERARDUCCI WAS RELUCTANT TO PUT
A PRICE TAG ON THE PROJECT..
SHE SUGGESTED THE STATE COULD
TAP INTO ITS GENERAL PUBLIC
ASSISTANCE BURIAL FUND.
IT'S MONEY USED TO COVER BURIALS
FOR INDIGENT RHODE ISLANDERS..
PAYMENTS ARE CAPPED AT 9-HUNDRED
DOLLARS PER BODY.
00:16:41 these are unclaimed
bodies like the rest of the
unclaimed bodies. :43
WE CHECKED WITH THE DEPARTMENT
OF HUMAN SERVICES AND LEARNED
THE BURIAL FUND PAYS OUT ABOUT
600-THOUSAND DOLLARS EACH YEAR.
00:17:09 I think it's important
as a society, as people to show
each other that when we leave
this earth that we're not left
here exposed like this. :18
EARLIER THIS MONTH BERARDUCCI
MET WITH HOUSE SPEAKER NICHOLAS
MATTIELLO TO DISCUSS HER PLAN.
MATTIELLO'S SPOKESPERSON TELLS
ME THE SPEAKER PROMISED TO
RESEARCH THE ISSUE AND TOLD US -
AS A CRANSTON RESIDENT THE
SPEAKER WANTS TO HELP.
WITH THE TARGET
BY OUR TEAM OF METEOROLOGISTS.
(HE)
NOW TO A TARGET 12
INVESTIGATORS' EXCLUSIVE:
"GRAVE CONCERNS."
AT FIVE - WE TOLD YOU ABOUT A
LOCAL FUNERAL HOME'S NEW PLAN TO
REMOVE HUNDREDS OF BODIES THAT
ARE TRAPPED INSIDE THE CONDEMNED
ROGER WILLIAMS PARK MAUSOLEUM.
(MM)
NEW AT SIX... WHAT WE'VE LEARNED
ABOUT THE PEOPLE----- WHO WERE
LAID TO REST THERE... AND WHY
THE COMPLETE LIST MAY BE LOST
FOREVER.
(HE)
TARGET 12 CONSUMER INVESTIGATOR
SUSAN CAMPBELL IS IN CRANSTON
WITH THE STORY.
WE FOUND A LIST OF PEOPLE
INTERRED HERE -
BUT WE KNOW THAT LIST ONLY
REPRESENTS ABOUT HALF OF THE
PEOPLE WHO WERE LAID TO REST IN
THIS BUILDING.
RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO THE CONDEMNED
ROGER WILLIAMS MAUSOLUEM...
CHRISTINE DEMARCO FOUND HER HOME
SWEET HOME...
to be perfectly honest w/ you, I
bought my house b/c of the
mausoleum.
I felt a real draw and
obligation to do something w/
it.
BUT THE VISION FADED AS THE
BUILDING CRUMBLED...
when they put up the fence, I
realized that my dream of
somehow rescuing this building
had to be put aside. but it's
never stopped my interest in
this building.
ANNETTE BERARDUCCI AND HER
FAMILY HAVE ALSO BEEN INTERESTED
IN THEY OPERATE TWO FUNERAL
HOMES IN THE AREA.. AND RIGHT
BEFORE THE BUILDING WAS DECLARED
ABANDONED BY THE COURT ALMOST 2
DECADES AGO...
THE BERARDUCCIS PROPOSED A PLAN
TO TO DISINTER AND REINTER ALL
OF THE BODIES.
a lot of these people are
veterans, war heroes. They took
care of us. We have to take care
of them.
THE PLAN FIZZLED BECAUSE THERE
WAS NO FUNDING.
AND THE BUILDING - DEEMED A
HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARD HAS
GOTTEN WORSE.
5 to 7 years ago, we didn't have
caskets on the ground like that.
SO THE BERARDUCCIS ARE TRYING TO
SECURE FUNDING AGAIN... AND HAVE
MET WITH HOUSE SPEAKER NICHOLAS
MATTIELLO TO DISCUSS THE ISSUE.
it has to be addressed. And the
sooner the better.
BUT THERE'S STILL SOME MYSTERY
SURROUNDING WHO WAS LAID TO REST
HERE.
ACCORDING TO COURT RECORDS -
THERE WERE 527 BODIES IN THE
MAUSOLEUM.
THE CRANSTON HISTORICAL
CEMETERIES COMMISSION - PROVIDED
US WITH A LIST WITH 278 NAMES ON
IT.. ACKNOWLEDGING - IT'S NOT
EVEN CLOSE TO A COMPLETE LIST.
WHILE WE WERE INSIDE - WE
NOTICED THIS CRYPT... ERMA DUNN
WHO LIVED FROM 1908 TO 1998.
HER NAME IS ONE OF THE NAMES NOT
INCLUDED ON THE LIST OF PEOPLE
INTERRED HERE.
AND WE MAY NEVER GET A COMPLETE
LIST.
WHEN THE JUDGE ORDERED THE
MAUSOLEUM ABANDONED... HE ISSUED
AN ORDER TO DESTROY THE
BUILDING'S REMAINING BOOKS AND
RECORDS.
the judge, the attorneys, nbody
realy came to a conclusion as to
what to do.
there's a lot of people that
have a lot of ideas
the problem is who's going to
take it on to make those
decisions?
at this point no one knows the
answer to that question.
A SPOKESPERSON FOR SPEAKER
MATTIELLO SAYS - THE SPEAKER
PROMISED TO RESEARCH THE ISSUE.
AND AS A CRANSTON
REPRESENTATIVE WANTS TO HELP.
WE ALSO REACHED OUT TO CRANSTON
MAYOR ALLAN FUNG..
HIS SPOKESPERSON SAID THE CITY
HAS NOT SEEN A COMPLETE PLAN
FROM THE BERARDUCCI FAMILY.
"While the Berarducci family has
some noble goals to find another
resting place for those
remaining, they have never
produced a plan that the city
has asked for to ensure the safe
transfer of the bodies..."
WITH THE TARGET 12
INVESTIGATORS, SUSAN CAMPBELL,