Nonprofit N.Y. Cemetery’s Head Accused of $2-Million Theft

The attorney for a nonprofit Staten Island cemetery who took over as acting president when previous leaders were embroiled in an embezzlement case has himself been charged with stealing $2-million from the organization, according to the Jewish Daily Forward and the New York Daily News.

Timothy Griffin, 54, of Ridgefield, Conn., pleaded not guilty Monday after being arrested on larceny charges. Law-enforcement officials allege that after taking the reins at United Hebrew Cemetery in October 2012 he regularly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in cemetery funds into an account he controlled as the organization’s lawyer.

Mr. Griffin replaced Arthur Friedman, whose wife, former United Hebrew board member Ilana Friedman, pleaded guilty in April 2013 to stealing more than $1-million from the cemetery. She was sentenced to five years’ probation and agreed to pay $1.1-million in restitution. Mr. Friedman was not criminally charged but along with his wife was barred from working in the cemetery business.