CLEARFIELD – A Reynoldsville man previously accused of not delivering grave markers to his clients is facing additional charges.
Edmund A. Grenier, Jr., 70, an inmate of state prison, is already charged with 30 counts each of deceptive business practice, theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds in one case and in two additional cases he is facing one count each of these same charges.
A trial for all three cases was scheduled in February, but it was cancelled. He was scheduled to pick a new jury in June.
During plea and sentencing court on Tuesday, Heather Bozovich, who was appointed to represent Grenier in April, asked Judge Paul E. Cherry to continue the cases, which are now scheduled for a trial in July.
She said she needs more time to review the large amount of evidence in these complex cases. She also mentioned that there are additional charges that have been filed with a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 22.
Cherry told her that if the trial does not happen in July, he will not have a place in his schedule to do it until the first part of 2017. He said Grenier will have to sign a waiver to Rule 600, which assures his right to a speedy trial. It is possible that this new case can be added to the trial for the other cases.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Grenier charged customers of Crown Crest Cemetery in Lawrence Township for granite bases and bronze plaques and failed to supply them.
In some cases, the victims purchased the items to be placed in storage until they would be needed. None of these items were delivered as expected and Grenier told some of the victims the bases and plaques were in a storage facility in Pittsburgh.
A few of the victims paid for additional information to be added onto standing bronze plaques and this service was not provided either.
Over the past few years, Grenier has been charged several, different times in both Clearfield County for Crown Crest Cemetery and in Jefferson County for Lakelawn Memorial Park for his failure to deliver products to his customers.
In January of 2015, he pleaded guilty in Clearfield County on two, separate cases to felony counts of deceptive business practice, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and theft by deception.
Prior to that in Aug. 27, 2013, he pleaded guilty to deceptive business practices.
He pleaded guilty to two cases with the same charges in Jefferson County. He is currently serving a probation revocation sentence from Jefferson County of 20 to 40 years in state prison that he was given in September of 2015.
Grenier’s ex-wife, Brenda Grenier is charged with 30 counts each of deceptive or fraudulent business practices, theft by deception, and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and two counts of theft by unlawful taking in one case and with one count each of deceptive business practices, theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds in two other cases.
Brenda Grenier was identified as the secretary and treasurer of Grenier Enterprises Inc. as well as Crown Crest Cemeteries. In June of 2014, she withdrew $7,577.55 from the business account.
She admitted she took the funds because Edmund Grenier had stopped paying her a regular salary from the business. Brenda Grenier has not been associated with the day-to-day operation or maintenance of the business since 2011, according to the criminal complaint.
According to online court records, in July Jefferson County Judge John Foradora ordered that all accounts in the name of Lakelawn Memorial Park or Crown Crest Memorial Park be closed and reopened by attorney Jeffrey M. Gordon. The cemeteries were to be sold to pay the debts of the business.