County may take control of cemetery
Agency rejects renewal of owner’s license; relatives ready for a change of operation
State regulators have refused to renew a license held by the caretaker of a small northeast Harris County cemetery — the first official finding that workers destroyed grave markers while clearing the site in 2016.
State regulators have refused to renew a license held by the caretaker of a small northeast Harris County cemetery — the first official finding that workers destroyed grave markers while clearing the site in 2016.
The order signed Monday by the state banking commissioner, Charles G. Cooper, could pave the way for Harris County to take over care of the cemetery, where members of several generations of Aldine-area residents are buried. The banking commission regulates “perpetual care” cemeteries in Texas.
Foresthaven Cemetery Corp., which has held the perpetual care license for about 30 years, has until March 29 to appeal the decision by requesting a hearing overseen by an administrative law judge. The banking department’s action does not affect Foresthaven’s ownership of the property, only its authority to operate the cemetery.
The company’s president, Sugar Land attorney Corwin Teltschik, did not respond to a request for comment. Cooper’s order said Teltschik maintained that no headstones were destroyed.
The order states that Foresthaven’s agents destroyed “two
or more” headstones in the fall of 2016, adding that “the manner in which (Foresthaven) allowed its agents to clear the cemetery was not undertaken with the care due to the persons interred in the cemetery and does not demonstrate a character that warrants the public’s confidence.”
Cooper also found that Foresthaven had not adequately maintained the cemetery — family members have handled mowing and other upkeep for years — and that Harris County was willing to maintain the cemetery if Foresthaven’s license was not renewed.
Tammie West Wall, a family member who has led the effort to restore the damaged headstones and protect the cemetery, said she was grateful for Cooper’s decision.
“This has been a long road, and to get anything positive out of it, to me, it’s a true blessing,” Wall said. “Everywhere else we’ve turned, we’ve gotten nowhere.”
The destruction of the grave markers and the relatives’ pleas for help have been the focus of a series of stories in the Houston Chronicle. Harris County prosecutors looked into the case at the families’ request and presented evidence to a grand jury last year, but no charges were filed. Assistant District Attorney Valerie Turner said her review concluded that at least four or five markers, and “probably more,” had been removed by workers clearing the site.
According to Cooper’s order, Teltschik in 2016 was arranging to transfer the cemetery to a nonprofit led by Ibrahim Badat, a Houston businessman. Teltschik authorized Badat to clear the cemetery, the order states, and Badat “instructed contractors to remove brush and trees.”
It was during this process that headstones were destroyed or removed. Badat’s attorney, Charles Maynard, declined to comment.
Cooper’s order said the Texas Department of Banking received numerous written complaints from family members who said “the cemetery had been bulldozed and headstones destroyed.”