A Lawrence cemetery dogged by complaints of shoddy maintenance and customer service is now being investigated by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.

A spokesman at the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office confirmed Friday that the agency had turned over its investigation of Lawrence Memorial Park Cemetery, 1517 E. 15th St., to Atty Gen. Phill Kline’s office.

In late October, the Secretary of State’s Office found the owner of the cemetery, Houston-based Mike Graham & Associates, was not complying with a state law that required private cemeteries to deposit 15 percent — or a minimum of $25 per plot — from burial plot sales into a permanent maintenance fund.

The Secretary of State’s Office gave the company until Dec. 31 to bring the fund up to the required levels.

“They did not comply,” said Jesse Borjon, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office.

The office forwarded the matter Monday to the Attorney General’s Office. Whitney Watson, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, declined to give specifics about the investigation, but said the case could lead to the cemetery being placed under the care of a new operator.

“The penalty is a $1,000 fine,” Watson said. “If the lapse continues for more than 90 days, our office can move to put it into receivership. That means we would ask the court for the cemetery to be taken over by the appropriate governmental entity, which in this case probably would be the City of Lawrence or Douglas County.”

Ron House, of Norman, Okla., has filed a complaint with the Kansas Attorney General's Office about issues regarding Memorial Park Cemetery. The gravestone for his late son, Daniel House, was ordered four months ago and still hasn't arrived. A temporary placard marks his son's grave at the Lawrence cemetery, 1517 E. 15th St.

That would be a fine resolution to a long-simmering dispute, said several people who have buried family members at the cemetery.

“It needs to be locally owned where it can be taken care of better,” said Nina Bair, who nine years ago buried her husband, Floyd, at the cemetery. “They just weren’t taking care of the grounds. It looked like there was hay all over the tombstones.”

In August, about two dozen people told the Journal-World the cemetery was mowed infrequently and that roads and trees were not properly maintained.

Randall Davis, the district operations manager for Mike Graham & Associates, declined to comment on any matters related to the cemetery.

Complaints about the facility keep coming. Ron House, of Norman, Okla., said he filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office this week after the company was unable to produce a tombstone for his son’s grave four months after it was ordered.

House said he paid a little more than $1,000 in September for the company to order a tombstone for his son Daniel. Company officials said the tombstone should arrive and be placed at the grave within a couple weeks. During several follow-up conversations, House was unable to get an answer why the tombstone had not arrived. Recently, he said, a company official admitted to him a mistake had been made and that the tombstone had never been ordered. Now, he said he was told, the stone is expected to arrive in a couple of weeks.

6News video: Attorney general investigating Lawrence cemetery operations (01-14-05) Employees, clients say cemetery ownership lax (11-05-04) 6News video: Unmarked grave stones spark anger among residents (11-04-04) Cemetery fails to meet maintenance requirement (10-14-04) 6News video: Cemetery instructed to improve maintenance (10-13-04) Cemetery maintenance deemed disrespectful (8-24-04) 6News video: Cemetery maintenance draws complaints Police seek information on cemetery vandalism (08-17-04)

“I really don’t have any confidence in them now,” House said. “To them, we just seem to be a dollar sign. To us, this is personal. That’s the biggest thing. They just don’t seem to care.”

Several other people have told the Journal-World that they have complained to the Attorney General’s Office about tombstone delays. Watson said he couldn’t say how many complaints the office had received. It is the office’s policy to comment only on actions taken against a company, and Watson said the office had not yet taken any. He said a violation of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act could result in a $10,000 fine for each offense and would allow victims to seek restitution.

Lawrence resident Marilyn Bray was among those who complained. She said since that time her mother’s headstone had been placed.

“In fairness to them, I would say that right now everything is taken care of,” Bray said. “But if they start falling behind on the mowing again this spring, you can bet they’ll be hearing from me.”