BOSTON, April 11, 2014—A Mattapan man working without a license as a funeral director was arraigned today for allegedly spending money earmarked for clients’ funeral expenses, and a wider investigation of his activity is already under way, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JOSEPH O’DONNELL (D.O.B. 9/10/58) was arraigned in Dorchester Municipal Court on two counts of larceny over $250. Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Walsh, Chief of the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit, recommended that he be held on $10,000 cash bail and Judge Serge Georges imposed that amount. Georges also ordered O’Donnell to wear a GPS monitor and abide by a curfew of 10:00 pm to 7:00 am if he posts that amount.

Walsh told the court that the victims in this matter provided O’Donnell more than $12,000 in pre-payment funds to cover two future funerals. The payments were documented in a contract that all parties signed in 2011, when the victim and his wife were both 72 years old and O’Donnell ran a funeral home on Neponset Avenue in Dorchester.

Earlier this year, the victim and his wife sought to apply one of the funeral pre-payments to services for a family member who passed away. They soon learned that the Neponset Avenue funeral home was closed. When they finally made contact with O’Donnell, he told them he would provide them with all their paperwork and payments – but allegedly never did so.

Parallel to that investigation is an inquiry by detectives of the DA’s Special Investigations Unit into the validity of other funeral arrangements for which O’Donnell took money, including arrangements he allegedly undertook after his funeral director’s license had lapsed. That investigation began with a referral earlier this year from the Division of Professional Licensure, which has been assisting in the probe of O’Donnell’s potentially unlicensed activity.

Based on their findings thus far, investigators obtained a warrant for O’Donnell’s arrest late last month. When members of the Boston Police Fugitive and Apprehension Unit located him at a family member’s home last night and called for additional marked units, he allegedly turned out the lights and pretended not to be at home until officers deployed a K-9 unit.

Others who may have lost funds provided to O’Donnell may contact Boston Police Area C-11 detectives at 617-343-4335 of the Suffolk DA’s Special Investigations Unit at 617-619-4010.

O’Donnell was represented by attorney Paul Tomasetti. He will return to court on May 5.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.