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Suffern Funeral Home Director Indicted, DA Asks Victims to Come Forward

Published

5 years ago

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SUFFERN, NY – Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh, II announced that Leonard Scarr, 53, of Warwick, NY was indicted on 9 criminal counts stemming from an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office and the Ramapo Police Department. Scarr is the owner of Scarr Funeral Home located in Suffern, NY.

This week a Rockland County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Leonard Scarr with nine Class D felonies. On or about and between July 11, 2019, and October 11, 2019, on three occasions, Scarr forged three separate death certificates for three different individuals whom he had contracted with to set up designated pre-paid burial escrow accounts. Regarding these accounts, as trustee, Scarr could only receive an account’s funds upon the death of the account holder. He presented the forged death certificates to representatives of the bank where the burial escrow accounts were held and withdrew the accounts’ funds, each of which exceeded $6,000. The indictment consisted of Grand Larceny in the 3rd (three counts), Forgery in the 2nd (three counts), Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the 2nd (three counts).

Rockland County District Attorney Tom Walsh said, “This is a case that strikes at the very core of community. Our own family, friends and neighbors have been deceived and defrauded by a business-person as we plan for our future funeral expenses. Contrary to recent media outlet reports, this office will not stand idly by and let residents of our County be victim of fraud and let the perpetrator of with a slap of the wrist! Make no mistake about it, my team, led by Supervising Assistant District Attorney
Michael Dugandzic, and the Ramapo Police Department have been working very hard to track down any victims out there and build a solid case against Mr. Scarr. My heartfelt sympathy to those who fell victim to this egregious crime.”

The Rockland County District Attorney’s Office is asking that any other potential victims of Leonard Scarr come forward and that families who had not yet received their loved ones cremated remains from Scarr Funeral home contact the Rockland County
District Attorney’s Investigators at 845-731-4100 or the Ramapo Police Department at 845-357-2400 or submit an anonymous tip by downloading the RocklandCO DA Tip 411 app (available in the APP store or Google Play). You can also text the keyword ROCKLANDCODA to 847411, type in your tip information and hit send.

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Crime

Haverstraw Police Arrest Suspect in Connection with Residential Burglary

Published

2 days ago

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April 1, 2025

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On March 31, 2025, the Haverstraw Police Department located and arrested Carlos Sepulveda, 43, of West Haverstraw, New York, in connection with a residential burglary that recently occurred. Mr. Sepulveda was identified as the suspect depicted in a circulated image related to the incident.
The arrest stemmed from an investigation into a reported incident where a suspect allegedly entered a residence and stole a package.
Mr. Sepulveda has been charged with the following:
Burglary 2nd Degree (Class C Felony)
Criminal Trespass 3rd Degree (Class B Misdemeanor)
Petit Larceny (Class A Misdemeanor)
Following his arrest, Mr. Sepulveda was arraigned in Clarkstown Justice Court. He was subsequently remanded to the Rockland County Correctional Facility.

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Crime

Rockland County Court Rejects Convicted Murderer’s Eighth Attempt To Vacate Conviction

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1 week ago

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March 27, 2025

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Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh, II, announced today that, in a decision issued on March 25, 2025, Rockland County Court Judge Kevin F. Russo rejected the latest attempt by convicted murderer Amer Zada to have his conviction vacated. The court noted that this motion is the eighth time Zada has sought to reverse or vacate his conviction.
In 1980, Zada was convicted of the murder of seventeen-year-old Shirley Smith in a Village of Nyack parking lot. He was also convicted of Attempted Sodomy in the First Degree and Aggravated Sexual Abuse as a result of his attack on Ms. Smith. At his trial, Zada was represented by William Kunstler, a world-renowned defense attorney who had gained notoriety for successfully defending many high profile and controversial clients.
In its decision, the court described the defendant’s current motion as being largely based on Zada’s claim that certain documents were not turned over to him prior to trial.
“The court found that Zada had failed to adequately establish this speculative claim as he provided no direct evidence that he had never received the documents. I would like to commend Executive Assistant District Attorney James Dolan for his dedication and professionalism representing the Office in this proceeding.” said District Attorney Tom Walsh.
The court also found that, even assuming that the documents had not been turned over, they were of little importance in the case against Zada and none of them were exculpatory within the meaning of the law. In addition, the court found that Zada’s motion to vacate his conviction raised only minor inconsistencies in the case against him, most of which were thoroughly explored by Mr. Kunstler during the trial. In conclusion, the court found that Zada had not offered anything to justify vacating his conviction.

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