> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # City Hall seeks answers - URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-hall-seeks-answers/ - Published: 2005-02-12T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T06:05:05.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Government & Politics, Pico, #archive-import *Abbot Kinney, Leo Carrillo buried at Woodlawn* PICO NEIGHBORHOOD — Attorneys for City Hall are expected to question the head of Woodlawn Cemetery next week, nearly two months after criminal and personnel investigations were launched into the cemetery’s affairs. No charges have been filed against two top cemetery administrators who were removed from their posts Dec. 17, and police and city officials declined to discuss any allegations against the cemetery workers. Santa Monica Police Department Chief James T. Butts Jr. said police were still collecting documents and other information related to the criminal probe. Meanwhile, Deputy City Attorney Barbara Greenstein and Karen Bancroft, City Hall’s human resources director, said they were conducting interviews, but had not met with the two employees in question. They declined to discuss the details of the case. “With regards to the cemetery investigation, I can’t tell you anything,” Bancroft said. “It’s a personnel matter. It’s confidential.” Several sources close to the investigation said the administrators were under scrutiny for anything from sloppiness to nefariousness, adding questions have been raised about everything from bookkeeping to how the deceased were buried. Apparent discrepancies in the cemetery ledgers were spotted by Steve Stark, City Hall’s finance director, when he attempted to close out an unfinished audit of the cemetery from a prior year. The Daily Press is not printing the names of the workers under investigation until authorities decide whether to pursue formal charges. In the meantime, the cemetery head, accompanied by civil and criminal attorneys, and his union representative, was expected to meet with city officials this Wednesday. Asked who already had been interviewed by the city, Bancroft said, “It really just includes people who we think might have pertinent information related to this case... We’re doing the interviews, and once we get them done, we’ll complete our report.” Bancroft said it was difficult to estimate when the investigation might be completed, because interviews sometimes uncover new contacts, and lead to further interviews. The administrator working directly underneath the cemetery head has not returned repeated calls for comment. The cemetery head declined to discuss the investigation, and instead directed questions to his civil and criminal lawyers. “We look forward to a prompt resolution, and that’s about all I can tell you,” criminal attorney Richard Beada said Friday. The cemetery head’s civil attorney, Bill Becker, declined to comment on the case. Sources friendly with the administrators said both were taken aback and dismayed by their abrupt removal, adding neither knew what had triggered the investigations. Bought by City Hall in 1897, Woodlawn is a gated, tree-lined cemetery located between Pico Boulevard and Michigan Avenue, from 14th Street to 17th Street. As of June 2000, more than 51,000 Santa Monicans had been interred on the 26.6-acre site, including Abbot Kinney, founder of Venice, and actor Leo Carrillo, son of the first mayor of Santa Monica and namesake of the state beach near the Ventura county line. Woodlawn is one of the few municipal cemeteries in the state. To be buried there, one either must be a resident of Santa Monica or must be related to one. The Santa Monica City Council decided in 2000 to continue operating the cemetery as a community resource, rather than close it to future burials. The cemetery oversees about 100 burials a year, and the same number of daily visitors. Several hundred visitors converge on the cemetery on holidays, with even larger crowds attending Woodlawn’s annual Memorial Day event. Budget documents released by the city earlier this week show the cemetery has generated between $400,000 and $700,000 annually over the past five years. The cost of running the cemetery, however, has far outweighed revenues, and the cemetery has operated at a net loss between $320,000 and $670,000 in each of those years, city records show. To cover the difference between revenues and expenses, City Hall often relies on money from the general fund, as well as interest from its “Perpetual Care Fund,” which in June of 2004 had a balance of $6.8 million, according to Stark. Bereaved families typically pay 15 percent of the cost of each plot into the perpetual care fund. Last year, nearly $45,000 in new money went into the fund, which generated more than $260,000 in interest for the cemetery. How much it costs to bury a loved one at Woodlawn varies widely on the type of plot, urn or niche used, and a number of other factors, as spelled out in the cemetery’s 30-page fee schedule, Stark said. With Woodlawn’s two top administrators out, the cemetery’s offices are being staffed by Gil Borboa and Jean Higbee of the water resources division of City Hall’s environmental and public works management department. Part-time staff is providing clerical support as needed, said City Hall spokeswoman Judy Rambeau. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/021205-01_01-7.jpg) With criminal and personnel investigations pending, Santa Monica’s municipal cemetery has been without its top two administrators for nearly two months. (Photo: Michael Tittinger/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 12, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021205.pdf?ref=smdp.com)