NORTHAMPTON — The ex-funeral home director who prosecutors say embezzled more than $400,000 in prepaid funeral arrangements between 2001 and 2014 is expected to plead guilty to nearly six dozen larceny charges, among others, next month.
William Ryder operated Ryder Funeral Home in South Hadley, which was shut down in May 2014 by state and local officials after regulators found several bodies improperly stored and in various states of decomposition.
Ryder has pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to five counts of improper disposition of a human body and 66 counts of larceny greater than $250. Ryder is accused of embezzling roughly $431,625 from at least 74 clients, according to the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne said in an email that the defendant “is alleged to have deposited the funds directly into his own business account and used them for his own professional and personal benefit.”
Gagne also said the criminal cases are scheduled for an expected change of plea at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 18.
Last week, in the first of eight lawsuits in which Ryder is named as a defendant, a jury awarded $150,000 in damages to three siblings — Lincoln E. White Jr. of Granby, Ann Marie Sapowsky of Ware and Kimberlee Felper of Grafton — following their veteran father’s botched burial. Each of the siblings was awarded $50,000.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.