Paris hit by wave of street muggings and grave robberies

Last week, police in the French capital arrested three people as part of a widening grave robbery investigation. There was further public outrage after two masked intruders shot dead a 52-year old precious metal worker when he tried to stop them stealing gold from his foundry in the chic central Parisian district of Le Marais.

Police said sky-high market prices for precious metals are acting as a magnet for thieves with scant regard for the living or the dead. In Pantin cemetery, in the north of Paris, dozens of bodies have recently been dug up, with gold teeth and jewellery stolen from them. Police sources said the three men seized last week were gravediggers employed by the city's cemeteries.

Last month, four other men – three from the same Pantin cemetery – were arrested and placed under investigation for aggravated theft, grave robbery and violating the integrity of a corpse.

According to a source close to the investigation, the men removed personal belongings from corpses in the freshest graves, opening them in the dead of night. Two of the men were caught wearing miner's helmets and gloves. Their boots were covered in fresh earth. One of the suspects was found to be carrying 10 gold teeth. Read more >>

Hundreds sell their own burial plots to make some quick cash

Holly Purkey, 28, is one of many Floridians trying to sell her pre-purchased burial plots for some quick cash. She is selling two burial plots in Forest Hills Memorial Park in Palm City. "This is new to me. Kind of a weird investment," said Purkey, of Port St. Lucie.

The side-by-side plots belonged to her grandparents, who had moved out of state. She bought them seven years ago. Now Purkey, a stay at home mother, wants this cemetery real estate off her hands. She would like $3,000 for the pair of plots in return. "The money would help. That's the reason why I should get these on Craigslist and do something about it," she said.

Sellers are posting online, using burial plot brokers, and also funeral homes to market the real estate. Some of those advertisements show single plots starting at about $1,000, while family plots can go for up to $50,000. More...

Broke Families Can't Afford to Bury Their Dead

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USA TODAY reports Cemeteries are having trouble expanding because of the high cost of real estate and a drop in revenues as strapped families increasingly turn to cheaper cremations.

Communities struggling with budget deficits have also had to curtail spending on public cemeteries, which means many people may find that their hometown cemeteries are full. Cemeteries are not only seeing a drop in money coming from municipalities. Customers are scaling back as well.

Gary Brown, who oversees six cemeteries for the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, said they've seen a 17% decrease in prepaid plots over the past two years. That leaves the diocese with a lot less money for expansion. "People are at this time reluctant to take their extra funds and spend it on items that are not necessary," Brown said.

Cemeteries also haven't been able to rely on investments to bail them out. David Heisterkamp, president of the Pennsylvania Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, said most cemeteries invest part of their income into perpetual care funds for the maintenance of graves. The return on those investments is used to pay for daily operations.

Heisterkamp said those investments have been clobbered by the recession, forcing cemeteries to cut back on maintenance and lay off workers.