Posted on Thu, May. 09, 2002 State sells two cemeteries New owners look to use new technology By Brian Brueggemann Prospective buyers of Mount Hope Cemetery in Belleville and Valley View Cemetery in Edwardsville want to change the way we rest in peace. Brothers Brent and Tyler Cassity of St. Louis plan to use modern technology -- including computer screens where visitors can view digitized photos and video clips of their loved ones -- to transform the poorly kept cemeteries into places where people will want to be immortalized. ``If the idea is to go there and remember, there's technology that can help you do that,'' Brent Cassity said during a news conference Wednesday in Edwardsville. The Cassity brothers say they specialize in turning around run-down cemeteries. They own a number of cemeteries in Missouri, including ones in Creve Coeur, Independence and St. Louis, as well as the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery in California. The Hollywood cemetery, where many movie stars are buried, was suffering from two decades of neglect when the Cassity brothers bought it in 1997. Their transformation of Hollywood Memorial Park has been outlined in articles in Time, The New York Times and other publications. Mount Hope and Valley View cemeteries were placed into a receivership by the court in 1997 after their former owner, Larry Esterlen, was accused of raiding the cemeteries' trust funds. State Comptroller Daniel Hynes said Wednesday the Cassity brothers will pay $120,000 for Mount Hope and $135,000 for Valley View, and put $200,000 into an escrow account to be used to make improvements and repairs at both sites. In addition, the Cassitys will reimburse the state for payments the comptroller made to consumers who claimed they were cheated at the two cemeteries. That amount is about $183,000 so far, plus $33,000 in interest, Hynes said. The Cassitys also will pay $227,000 to restore the perpetual-care funds at the cemeteries. The sale has to be approved by a Madison County judge. A hearing in the comptroller's lawsuit against Esterlen is scheduled for May 13. The Cassitys will buy the cemeteries from the receivership, which has to repay loans for upkeep and other fees, according to Hynes. The comptroller has been searching for a buyer for the cemeteries since they were put into receiverships. Funding has been tight for even routine maintenance at the cemeteries. Volunteers and family members of people buried there sometimes mowed the grass. The Cassitys, whose father operated a number of funeral homes in Missouri, came up with an idea several years ago to compile video biographies of the deceased. They at first showed videos at funeral homes they owned, but learned that relatives of the dead person sometimes found it too upsetting because the loss was too recent. They've sold the funeral homes and now are focusing on developing Forever Enterprises, their business that offers the video biographies at cemeteries. Visitors to the cemeteries will be able to call up photos, video clips and other information about their loved ones using touch-screen computers inside a mausoleum. A production studio in Hollywood will create the person's life story, at a price ranging from $395 to more than $5,000. It can include music and interviews with the deceased and others. The end result, Brent Cassity said, is a biography ``similar to what you see on A&E.'' Family members who move from the area can view the biography on the company's Web site, www.forevernetwork.com. Zella Niehaus, 66, of Granite City, attended the news conference Wednesday and said she's not sure what to think about the possibility of having her life story on a computer file at the cemetery. ``I don't know. I'd have to think about it and see it,'' she said. ``I think it might be good.'' Niehaus, whose family bought four burial plots at Valley View, said she's happy that the cemetery will maintained, and everyone will get the plots and grave markers for which they've already paid. Niehaus had considered seeking a refund. ``From what they're telling us, I think I'll be satisfied with it,'' Niehaus said.