Fearing gang retaliation, funeral home refuses to bury couple's son

[CPDlife4ME]

Family says 2 funeral homes rejected beaten teen, 3rd offered only brief rite, fearing violence

April 18, 2008

BY STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporter sesposito@suntimes.com


The family wanted something simple for John Mendoza -- the chance to see the 16-year-old one final time and then to say goodbye.

But two Chicago funeral homes told the grief-stricken Mendozas this week they couldn't help, and a third offered only an abbreviated service -- all because John Mendoza had been beaten to death and the funeral homes feared gang retaliation, the Mendozas say.

"It's crazy," said Jose Mendoza, 48, the dead boy's uncle. "Here we are trying to bury our poor nephew so he can rest in peace, and these people are being boneheads."

John Mendoza was found bludgeoned to death in a South Side alley Monday morning. Detectives haven't ruled out gang involvement, but the Mendozas insist the 16-year-old wasn't in a gang and had in fact recently changed schools to avoid being sucked into that life.

Representatives of the three Chicago funeral homes either wouldn't discuss how they handled the Mendozas' funeral request or disagree with what the family says happened.

Richard Modelski, owner of Modell Funeral Homes, denied that the Mendozas were refused service.

But any time someone dies violently, Modelski takes precautions, he said, including requiring a $2,000 fee to pay for extra security.

Wakes are often scheduled in the morning because "most gang violence occurs in the evening under cover of darkness," Modelski said. "Unfortunately, that's the society we live in."

But the Mendozas say their son wasn't in a gang.

"Most families aren't going to be honest with you," Modelski said. "Most families don't know what their children do."

At Wolniak Funeral Home on the South Side, the Mendozas were offered an abbreviated morning wake -- something that wouldn't work because the family was expecting relatives streaming in at different times from out of state, Jose Mendoza said.

Funeral home owner Nancy Wolniak-Cook said she couldn't discuss the family's "private conversation with us."

"Services were offered," Wolniak-Cook said.

Charles Childs, a past president of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association and a longtime Chicago funeral director, said he sometimes encourages a daytime wake, but he would never insist on it and never charges for private security.

"You would think that if a funeral home had some security concerns, they would call the Police Department [in advance] and the Police Department would dispatch someone," Childs said.

Though it took them four tries, the Mendozas finally found someone to take John Mendoza -- but only after Jose Mendoza contacted a friend in the funeral business, he said.

As the boy's father, Anthony Mendoza, gathered the black pants, tie and gray shirt for his son to wear today, the grieving dad said he can't understand how he could have been treated this way.

"There's no worse feeling," he said. "I was just so mad."

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While I sympathize with the parents trying to bury their son, I also understand why the funeral homes doing this.

It's gonna be one bloody summer here in the Chi...

[WellAdvised]

A difficult situation for all concerned. I would have thought that the funeral parlours would welcome business, seeing as it is distinctly possible that the families will be repeat customers.

Solicitors here often put on a show in front of clients, objecting to this and that, creating the illusion that they are working hard for the client. They just want more work.