[Thanks to Wayne Rettke for alerting me to this story... and thank goodness, eh? After all the work that's been done it would have been a shame to lose Concordia again...] For the full story from the Buffalo News, see: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050401/1028387.asp Here's an excerpt... IRS drops claim against cemetery By JAY REY News Staff Reporter 4/1/2005 An East Side cemetery trying to come back after scandal, neglect and abandonment has overcome another hurdle - the Internal Revenue Service. In December, the IRS notified the new board of directors at Concordia Cemetery on Walden Avenue that it owed the government more than $30,000 in back payroll taxes, fines and interest. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, with the help of Council President David A. Franczyk, spoke with the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service in Buffalo. They explained that the tax problems occurred under a previous board, when the cemetery fell victim to disrepair and theft by its former treasurer. The IRS agreed the new board wasn't responsible for the back taxes and dropped the case against the struggling cemetery, according to Clinton's press office. Paying back taxes and fines from the late 1990s and early 2000 would have devastated efforts to keep Concordia afloat, cemetery board members said. "Now we can concentrate on our volunteer efforts to bring Concordia Cemetery back to a place of beauty and serenity," said Diane Savatteri, a board member. Concordia Cemetery Association http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jillaine/concordia/ PO Box 1773 - Amherst, NY 14226; 716-892-2909 (phone only answered by a person on Saturdays, but there is voicemail)