Former Funeral Home Director Investigated For Embezzling
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - A funeral home worker in Arvada is being investigated for allegedly embezzling $100,000 from the business.
Malesich & Shirey Funeral Home is now out the money but the owners are still honoring the families' wishes.
The funeral home is located at 5701 Independence Street. The owners are making sure that their clients don't get hurt by what funeral home director Darrin Pinkston may have done.
Malesich & Shirey has been in business five years, but it's been over the past year when problems began. Co-owner Don Shirey says Pinkston, 40, was embezzling money from grieving families.
"For a funeral director to do that, I mean you really have to be a dirt bag," Shirey said. "I don't care what business you're in -- to do that to people. He didn't hurt any of our families, he hurt us."
Arvada police are still gathering information about Pinkston. They believe he may have taken the cash from 60 different families, including the mother of Jessica Ridgeway, the little girl kidnapped and murdered in Westminster in 2012.
"The clients received the services for which they paid, but the money was never properly transferred to the funeral home," police said in a statement.
Anyone with information is asked to call Arvada police.