Editor's note: Why is your ProbateShark not surprised? Groups of crooks working for the Probate Court of Cook County "concoct elaborate plots" to steal assets of the dead, dying and disabled every day! Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
The woman's neighbor, his lawyer, two funeral directors, a real estate agent and a car salesman forged documents and lied in court to collect an heirless 79-year-old's rowhose and Buick LeSabre, police said. The woman died in 2010 — but cops didn't uncover the plot and arrest the men until Thursday.
BY Meg Wagner
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Saturday, October 18, 2014, 10:49 AM
Updated: Saturday, October 18, 2014, 10:49 AM
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Police PhotoSix Philadelphia men plotted to steal a dead woman's house and car, police said. Damion Rivers (clockwise), Antoine Turay, Andrew Kaufman, Vincent Marciano, Romanoff Quarles and Marvin Kimble have been charged with conspiracy and theft.The woman's neighbor, his lawyer, two funeral directors, a real estate agent and a car salesman invented an elaborate scheme to take the heirless woman's personal property. They were slammed with a slew of theft and conspiracy charges Thursday after a tipster caught on to their cruel plot and alerted police.
All six men are either in police custody or expected to surrender, District Attorney Seth Williams told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The plot started in 2010 when 79-year-old Dorothy Kennedy died.
The woman's husband died two year earlier, and the couple left no heirs. By law, the state would collect their well-manicured rowhouse and 2005 Buick LeSabre.
But her neighbor Romanoff Quarles had another plan.
The 43-year-old asked his lawyer, 56-yearold Andrew Kaufman, how he could get his hands on the house.
Together, they crafted a plan to make Quarles the administrator of the estate.
They needed to prove that Quarles cared for Kennedy before she died — so they marked up old calendars with false appointments to make it look like Quarles ran errands for the woman long before her death.
But Kaufman wasn't sure if the falsified date books would be enough.
To make Quarles seem invested in the woman's care, he needed to oversee Kennedy's burial, too, Kaufman said.
So the two enlisted the help of two funeral directors, Marvin Kimble and Antoine Turay.
They first approached 57-year-old Kimble, but he no longer owned his funeral home, so he couldn't forge the documents.
Instead, Kimble sent them to Turay Memorial Chapel's owner.
Turay and Quarles collected Kennedy's body from the morgue and buried her in a pauper's grave. Turay drafted a $7,000 bill for the funeral — even though it only cost $1,400.
Quarles used the bill and his calendars in court to take over Kennedy's estate.
With his goal in sight, Quarles brought in a real estate agent and a car salesman to finalize his plot.
Broker Vincent Marciano organized a fake sale of the house, and let Quarles take over in 2012. Damion Rivers used his family's car business to give Quarles the title to the LeSabre.
It's not clear who tipped off police, but cops finally busted the four-year plot Thursday.
All six men face conspiracy, theft, receiving stolen property, forgery and perjury charges.
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