$43K for abandoned Louisville cemeteries found in deceased supervisor’s bank account

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than $40,000 earmarked for three abandoned Louisville cemeteries has languished unspent in a bank account, coming to light only last month in a court filing.

In fact, a review of court records shows no spending reports for the cemeteries since February 2018.

Those are among the findings in a WDRB News investigation coming Thursday that highlights the condition of Eastern, Greenwood and Schardein cemeteries and the bureaucratic system that governs them.

"I'm alarmed about it," said Martina Kunnecke, an advocate for Greenwood Cemetery in the Chickasaw neighborhood. "Because it's money that could have been put to use in terms of the care and rehabilitation of the cemetery."

The three cemeteries have been maintained for decades by volunteers and various nonprofit organizations. They were owned by the Louisville Crematory and Cemeteries Co., which has been defunct since the 1990s following a state investigation into burial practices that led to criminal indictments.

In 2001, Jefferson Circuit Court appointed Charles Rickert to oversee spending from a trust fund tied to the account at PNC Bank. Rickert, who died in 2023, was working under a contract with the Kentucky Attorney General's office that ended in 2018 or 2019, according to court records.

But in late July, PNC attorneys told Judge Patricia "Tish" Morris they believed there was $43,071.40 in Rickert's account — that only he had authority to spend — and asked for her to move the money to the trust fund.

PNC suspects the money wasn't spent because of Rickert's contract ending and his later death, court documents show. Morris ordered the funds to be transferred in an Aug. 14 ruling.

WDRB is awaiting responses from PNC to detailed questions about the discovery of the money and plans to disburse it.

Our investigation will publish and air Thursday.