Chicago Area Local News

ALSIP, Ill. (CBS) ― Despite the outrage here in Chicago and across the country at what happened at his cemetery, the man behind Burr Oak has remained largely silent on the scandal.

CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports with what little Melvin Bryant has said on the matter, and what that might mean for the future of the cemetery.

At least 300 bodies were removed from the ground and indiscriminately discarded, and their plots resold.

"I would like to share that I also have family members buried at Burr Oak Cemetery and I share the same outrage towards the conduct of the individuals," Melvin Z. Bryant, president of Perpetua Inc., which owns Burr Oak, said.

Asked if the employees were given background checks or any other sort of screening, Bryant said, "I have no idea...I didn't hire any of them."

But he says he did uncover initial wrongdoing and he says he reported it.

"As a management consultant to and president of Perpetua, I conducted an investigation which uncovered financial wrongdoings by the Director of Operations which led to her termination in March. The information was turned over to the proper authorities," Bryant said in a statement released Tuesday. "Neither I nor Perpetua, or its investors have benefitted from the criminal conduct. We understand the historical importance and legacy of Burr Oak Cemetery..."

The question is -- where's he been since?

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said no one from the cemetery management has stepped up to take charge as the investigation goes on.

"I've made it clear to them they should be running the cemetery, not me – the proper way, mind you – but that they need to be doing something here," Dart said.

Dart said he's gotten no response from Perpetua, no response from a company president who says he's "outraged" by the alleged wrongdoing.

It's the same man who, according to the sheriff, has been a no-show on the cemetery grounds. And Bryant hasn't been there to see county staffers marking every potential problem on the premises. He hasn't been there to see them probe the earth for possible double graves.

And he hasn't around to ease the minds of grief-stricken family members who want to know where their loved ones' bodies are.

The files in a rusting cabinet can tell you where the plots are – if you can read them. Many of them are stuck together, many of them are moldy, and many of them are just disintegrating.

The images are symbolic of the general neglect at Burr Oak.

Bryant wouldn't comment on things like that because of pending lawsuits against him, but said he could understand what family members are going through.

"Absolutely. I'm one of these," he said. "A lot of confusion right now."

We tracked Bryant down at his home in Dallas. Investigators say Bryant never told them he has family members at Burr Oak.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Dart wants the court to put someone in charge at Burr Oak Cemetery.

He said right now the remaining employees there report to him, not the attorney-consultant representing the company on cemetery grounds.

When people go up to Burr Oak's gates to ask questions about loved ones buried there, it's not cemetery owners or upper level management helping them, it's county employees, let by Dart.

"There is nobody running the cemetery right now other than me," Dart said.

Dart wants to change that. He's asking the courts to appoint a receiver to operate the place.

In his affidavit Dart said the current owner, Perptua Inc., has not indicated any plan, desire or ability to reopen and operate Burr Oak.

"They know the address. I mean, we haven't seen them," Dart said. "If it was your company, your corporation, you would have a team in here sifting through the records beginning to put things back together, not at some distant location."

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Editor's Picks

• Gay Celebrities
• Did You Know? Stars From Chicago!
• Celebs Who Lean To The Right
• Real Or Fake?