Colorado Shuts Down Funeral Home Operated by Body Parts Broker Cement,” the Order Said

For news and information consider- Couple get $8 million for If you would like to share news or news organization events, and school ation, please send to loss of daughter’s body If information with our readers, please news to us includinig your name and [email protected] from San Antonio funeral send the unique stories, business phone number in case more informa- home tion is needed. or contact John Robbins 832-280-5815 Jun Gai 281-498-4310

Publisher: Wea H. Lee General Manager: Catherine Lee Editor: John Robbins, Jun Gai Business Manager : Jennifer Lopez Address: 11122 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, TX 77072 Southern Daily News is published by Southern News Group Daily E-mail: [email protected] Inside C5 Wednesday, February 14, 2018 | www.today-america.com | Southern News Group Colorado shuts down funeral home operated by body parts broker cement,” the order said. In last month’s story by Reuters, for- Former employees of the Montrose, mer employees described how bodies Colorado, establishment had told donated to Donor Services were the news agency before the FBI raid dismembered and sold. The so-called that they were troubled by what they body broker business operated out of witnessed at the funeral home. the same building as Sunset Mesa. Although Hess spoke with Reuters State officials contacted Tuesday about her businesses in 2016, she said that the suspension order ex- has since declined to comment. tends only to the funeral home and By Tuesday morning, the funeral crematory and that the office “has no home’s website had been taken of- regulatory authority over Donor Ser- fline and the phone number discon- vices,” the body donation company. nected. Hess’s lawyer, Carol Viner, Reuters was unable to determine could not be reached for comment. whether Donor Services, the body Previously, Viner had asked Reuters donation company, remains open but to “refrain from contacting” Hess its number was also disconnected. employees “for any reason.” No federal law governs the sale of In its order, the Colorado depart- cadavers or body parts for use in ment, a division of the state’s research or education, and few state Department of Regulatory Agen- laws -- including those in Colorado cies, found that Hess neglected to -- provide any oversight. maintain required cremation records for at least five FILE PHOTO: Hess, owner of Donor Services, is pictured during an interview in Montrose years and final disposition records of the (Reuters) - Colorado officials indefinitely shut family and found to be concrete, not human deceased for down the funeral home and crematory this ashes. at least seven week of a woman who runs a side business The action against Sunset Mesa and its own- years. Sunset selling donated body parts from the same er, Megan Hess, comes after an FBI raid last Mesa also building. week. That raid followed a report by Reuters in disposed of In its order, issued Monday, the state’s Office January about alleged practices at Sunset Mesa bodies before of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration funeral home and Donor Services, the Hess-run obtaining the suspended operations at Sunset Mesa Funeral body donation firm. necessary per- Directors after saying that cremated remains During the FBI raid, officials searching the mits, the state returned to one donor were analyzed by the funeral home also found bags of “dry concrete/ order said. University of Houston reports Israeli police recommend bribery person on campus with weapon charges against Netanyahu JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli 1000, alleges the “committing of publisher of the biggest-selling University of police on Tuesday recommended crimes of bribery, fraud and breach Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Houston of- indicting Prime Minister Benjamin of trust by the prime minister, Mr. Arnon Mozes. The two men, police ficialsww are Netanyahu for bribery in two crim- Benjamin Netanyahu.” say, discussed ways of slowing the warning of a inal investigations but the Israeli In a detailed statement, police growth of a rival daily newspaper, Is- person on the leader, calling the allegations base- named Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood rael Hayom, “through legislation and main campus less, vowed to remain in office. producer and Israeli citizen, and Aus- other means”. who is report- Now deep in a cloud of uncer- tralian businessman James Packer, Netanyahu, who denies wrongdoing, ed to have a tainty over his political future, the saying that they “over years awarded has been questioned several times by weapon. right-wing leader will await a final gifts of various types”, including police since the start of 2017. Officials said decision by Israel’s attorney-general champagne, cigars and jewelry to In a televised address from his Je- the person is on whether he will face charges, a Netanyahu and his family. rusalem residence just minutes after on the west process that could take weeks or In all, the gifts were worth more than police made public their recommen- side of cam- even months. one million shekels ($280,000), the dations, Netanyahu said he had never pus. They did The recommendations, which police statement said. sought personal gain in his public University of Houston officials are warning of a person on not say Univer- made public on Tuesday night, were Netanyahu’s lawyers have said the service. the UH main campus who is reported to have a weapon. sity of Houston at the more serious end of the range presents were simply tokens of Against the backdrop of Israeli officials are He is described as a black male of charges that had been expected to friendship and no quid pro quo was flags, he spoke in somber tones as warning of a person on the UH wearing a gray shirt with black be leveled against Netanyahu, now given. he recounted his days as an Israeli main campus who is reported sleeves and black pants. Students in his fourth term. The investigations The second, Case 2000, also alleges commando and reaffirmed his com- to have a weapon. what type of and faculty are urged to avoid the have gone on for more than a year. “bribery, fraud and breach of trust mitment to Israel’s security. weapon the person reportedly has. west side of campus. One of the cases, known as Case by the prime minister” and by the

Wednesday, FEBRUARY 14, 2018 C2 BUSINESS While tens of millions of Olympic fans around the globe tuned in to watch the opening ceremonies in PyeongChang, Hackers Attacked The Olympics something sinister was going on behind the scenes. The Winter Games were under During The Opening Ceremonies attack by hackers. Compiled And Edited By John T. Robbins, Southern Daily Editor Just shortly before the ceremonies got un- derway, the official PyeongChang 2018 Olympic committee during the opening website stopped working. Visitors were ceremony.” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lav- unable to access their accounts, download The researchers at Talos dubbed the mal- rov claimed the reason for the ban — tickets for printing, or search for informa- ware “Olympic Destroyer,” just in case state-sponsored doping — was invented by tion. WiFi service in the stadium was tem- anyone was unclear about their conclu- the United States because the U.S. “can’t porarily knocked out, as were television sions. beat us fairly.” feeds in the Main Press Center. Importantly, there is no foolproof way So, yeah, clearly someone is upset — and As reported by The Guardian (UK), it to know with 100 percent certainty what Russia has been known to wield its power- took nearly 12 hours for the cyber re- motivated the hackers. However, a plot to ful hacking skills in a variety of unsavory sponse team to restore normal operation. A muck things up isn’t that farfetched. After ways. spokesperson for the PyeongChang games all, there is at least one powerful actor that Does that mean Russia perpetrated the claimed that the organizers “know what could conceivably have such a motive. hack? At this point, it’s too early to say. happened,” adding that “this is a usual Russia was banned from officially com- However, if an attack during the open- thing during the Olympic Games.” peting in this year’s Winter Olympics by ing ceremony is any indication of what’s Officials were not keen to reveal who the International Olympic Committee, and to come, we may just end up with plenty might have been behind the attack. Mark hasn’t taken that reality well. The Wash- more opportunities to find out. (Courtesy Adams, who heads up communications for ington Post reported today that mashable.com) the IOC, said that the Committee would not “reveal details in public because [...] we are making sure that our systems are hackers will do everything they can to secure.” When the investigation is com- cover their tracks. They’ll launch attacks plete, Adams noted, a full public report from infected computers located in another will be made. country and “borrow” techniques and code from other hacking groups to make attribu- tion as difficult as possible. Even if there is enough evidence for the IOC to proclaim the hackers were Russian, establishing a link to the Russian govern- ment may not be possible. There are plenty of highly-skilled, patriotic hackers out there... and it’s entirely possible that one or more may have tried to strike back against the IOC on their own. (Courtesy forbes. com) Opening ceremony at the 2018 PyeOngChang Winter Olympics. Related down of the Pyeongchang 2018 website was tailored to be destructive. Many outside observers think there’s a Researchers Say Olympic strong chance that the hackers behind the The goal of the Olympic hackers attack could be Russian. Their motivation Opening Ceremony Hack was to embarrass the games. would be clear enough, at least. Motive Was Embarrassment In other words, unlike the ransomware The hot new trend in Winter Olympics that swept the globe last year, there was no In December of 2017, the IOC suspend- fashion? Making the host country look like clear financial motive. And it doesn’t look ed the Russian Olympic Committee. If a chump. like the attackers were after information, you’ve been watching the games, you’ve Following reports that Olympic organiz- either. seen the result. Many Russian athletes ers had their servers hacked during the “The purpose of this malware is to perform were banned from competing. Those who opening ceremony, security researchers destruction of the host, leave the computer were still allowed to compete must do so have dug into the malware responsible and system offline, and wipe remote data,” ex- under the Olympic flag rather than their come to an interesting conclusion: Embar- plained report authors Warren Mercer and country’s flag. rassment was the name of the game. Paul Rascagneres. “Disruption is the clear Still, even an exhaustive investigation may According to Talos, “Cisco’s indus- objective in this type of attack and it leaves not turn up enough evidence to definitively try-leading threat intelligence team,” the us confident in thinking that the actors be- prove who was behind the attack. Skilled attack that knocked Olympic press center hind this were after embarrassment of the TVs offline and forced the temporary shut- Wednesday, February 14. 2018 C3 A Snapshot Of The World

PD party leader Matteo Renzi answers to a question during a news confer- ence at the Foreign Press Association in Rome

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a meeting on trade with members of Congress at the White House in Washington

Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Women Preliminary Round Match - Switzer- land v Japan - Kwandong Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea – Revellers strike each other with pig bladders on a street during carnival celebrations in the northwestern village of Xinzo de Limia

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim holds money as he walks on a street after attending a ceremony to place the first stone of the new U.S. Embassy, in Mexico City Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Schulz makes a statement at the party headquarters in Berlin

Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics Curling – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Mixed Doubles Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Wom- Speed Skating – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Men’s Final - Canada v Switzerland - Gangneung Curling Center - en Preliminary Round Match - U.S. v Olympic Athletes from 1500m competition finals – Gangneung Oval - Gangneung, Gangneung, South Korea – February 13, 2018 - Gold medalists Russia - Kwandong Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea South Korea – February 13, 2018 - Kjeld Nuis of the Neth- Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris of Canada celebrate during the erlands reacts after the heat. REUTERS/Phil Noble TPX victory ceremony. REUTERS/ IMAGES OF THE DAY Wednesday, FEBRUARY 14, 2018 C4 COMMUNITY JPMorgan Chase & Co. will raise wages for 900 employees in the Houston area and almost 3,500 across Texas as part of JPMorgan CHASE Raising a multibillion-dollar U.S. investment plan that comes in the wake of sweeping changes to the federal corporate tax system. Wages In Houston, Texas The New York bank said it will boost wag- Compiled And Edited By John T. Robbins, Southern Daily Editor es from $12 to $16.50 an hour to between the two largest U.S. oil companies, togeth- $15 to $18 an hour for 22,000 workers er had more than $100 billion in foreign across its U.S. footprint, spending $20 bil- earnings at the end of 2016, according lion over five years and increasing lending to the most recent regulatory filings data A ConocoPhillips worker raises to affordable-home buyers by a quarter to compiled by financial research firm Audit the flag at the new company’s $50 billion. Analytics. headquarters after the 2002 JPMorgan, one of the Houston area’s larg- Exxon Mobil had $54 billion in foreign merger. est employers with 6,400 local employ- earnings last year, the 10th largest among United States, absorbing a $38 billion tax ees, plans to hire 4,000 new workers in U.S. companies. Chevron had the 13th bill on its repatriated cash. the United States, and has more than 200 largest sum, with $46.4 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Tuesday said it positions open in Houston. Large oil producers, including Houston’s plans to raise wages for 22,000 employees The company has 207 local branches and Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Cono- to as much as $18 an hour, open 400 new 44 percent of Houston’s bank deposits. It coPhillips, had almost $24 billion in over- branches across the country and hire 4,000 plans to open another 400 branches across seas earnings combined. Major U.S. oil new workers in a $20 billion investment the country, hiring some 3,000 workers. refiners Valero Energy Corp., based in San plan over the next five years. The New Related Antonio, and Phillips 66, based in Hous- York banking company said the new tax ton, together had $6.9 billion in overseas law, as well as a more favorable regulatory Will U.S. Oil Companies Follow U.S. oil companies, most with headquar- out turning to Houston,” said Bill Gilm- earnings. environment under the Trump administra- Apple, JPMorgan And Bring ters or significant operations in Houston, er, director of the Institute for Regional Oil field service companies, equipment tion, made the investment possible. Home Foreign Cash? have more than $150 billion in foreign Forecasting at the University of Houston. suppliers and rig contractors, including But some economists are skeptical that the earnings, much of which is cash they “If it’s spent abroad or spent here, a good Houston-based National Oilwell Varco, repatriated cash will significantly bolster could bring back into the United States at share of it would wind up here in the Baker Hughes and Halliburton, had more the U.S. economy. In an October report, favorable tax rates under the recently en- Houston area.” than $24 billion in foreign earnings. macroeconomic research firm Capital acted federal tax overhaul. Exxon and Phillips Economics said the new tax law would It remains unclear how much the oil 66 declined comment. end companies’ “ability to defer payments companies might bring back home and Most of the companies by keeping earnings abroad,” but most of what they might do with it. But sweep- did not immediately the repatriated cash would likely be re- ing changes in the corporate tax system respond to requests for turned to shareholders, who would tend to have provided incentives for companies comment on Tuesday. save the money. to bring overseas earnings, estimated at Halliburton, which “This would be unlikely to provide a ma- some $3 trillion, into the United States, reported earnings on jor boost to investment or hiring,” Capi- and some are taking advantage of it. Monday, said it re- tal Economics said. “Many firms already Under the previous tax law, U.S. compa- corded an $882 million JPMorgan & Chase Co. Chair- have large reserves of domestic cash, with nies could avoid paying taxes on foreign noncash charge as a man and CEO Jamie Dimon is the liquid assets of the overall non-finan- earnings by keeping it abroad. The new preliminary provision interviewed on July 12, 2013, on cial corporate sector close to a record high system imposes taxes on foreign earnings, for “the net impact of the floor of the New York Stock as a share of GDP.” (Courtesy Houston- but U.S. companies are allowed a one- tax reform.” Exxon Exchange. In an op-ed published chronicle.com) Tuesday, July 12, 2016, in the New time tax of 15.5 percent for repatriated Mobil and Chevron York Times, JPMorgan Chase said cash -- far less than the 35 percent they Exxon Mobil has a major cam- will report it will give raises to 18,000 tellers, would have paid under the old system. pus near The Woodlands. The fourth-quarter 2017 earnings customer service employees, U.S. firms, including Apple and JPMorgan company says its legal efforts on Feb. 2. and other workers over the next Chase & Co., recently announced they’ll would back potential claims of the Lawmakers hoped the new two years. In the op-ed, Dimon make big investments in domestic oper- “abuse of process” by California tax law would create an in- wrote that the bank will raise its ations while making multibillion-dollar officials. centive for U.S. companies to minimum pay to a range of $12 to tax payment bills to repatriate cash. If oil Gilmer noted the $150 billion that oil reinvest their overseas cash $16.50 an hour, depending on mar- companies followed the lead of Apple and companies hold in foreign earnings, which in domestic operations and ket and location factors. Its current JPMorgan, and invested lumps of cash could include cash and the value of assets, boost U.S. economic growth. minimum pay is $10.15 an hour. in the United States, that money would is almost equivalent to the $175 billion Apple, with more than $250 Dimon also wrote that the bank will almost certainly end up benefiting Hous- in capital expenditures by the nation’s oil billion in overseas cash, last invest more in training that helps ton’s economy. producers, refiners and pipeline operators week announced it plans to workers get promoted to high- “The rule of thumb is you’re not really go- last year. build a new campus and in- er-paying positions. (AP Photo) ing to do a sophisticated drilling job with- Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., vest some $30 billion in the Wednesday, Feburary 14, 2018 C5 LOCAL NEWS Couple get $8 million for loss of daughter’s body from San Antonio funeral home

By Elizabeth Zavala mishandled it, it really doesn’t matter. They seeing a cardinal after had custody and control, and they lost her a loved one has passed A Bexar County jury took less than three body.” Julie Mott, seen means they are visiting. in an undated hours to award $8 million in damages to the Katzman argued the company had no chain The case was heard in parents of a woman whose body disappeared of command records, did not properly train the 131st Civil District photo, died died from a casket at a San Antonio funeral home. its employees, and, unbeknownst to the Court, presided by Judge Aug. 8, 2015. Julie Mott died Aug. 8, 2015. She was to be Motts, the funeral used Beyer and Beitel Norma Gonzales.market Her body went cremated after her funeral Aug. 15, 2015. Mortuary Services, a third-party contractor, is paying dividends to The next day, employees of MPII, which does for embalming purposes. missing while groups that were left be- it was in the business as Mission Park Funeral Chapels He went on to quote the funeral business’ hind by earlier stages of and Cemeteries, discovered her body miss- motto: “When you trust your loved ones the recovery. Wages have possession of ing from a casket at Mission Park North on to us, they never leave our care, custody or risen most quickly in Mission Park Cherry Ridge. Her parents, plaintiffs Timothy control. ... They made a promise. This is about lower-paying industries Funeral Chapels and Sharlotte Mott, are suing MPII, alleging what they were required to do,” he said. in recent months, and that their daughter’s body was lost while in Defense attorney Ricardo Reyna said there in- & Cemeteries’ employment gains have Mission Park their care. deed was a theft, that the police investigated it gone disproportionately Attorneys for the Motts had asked the jury to that way, and the officer wrote it in his report. to less-educated workers. North facility. award their clients $10 million — $5 million “The greater weight of credible evidence Companies including apiece for past and future mental anguish ex- in this case is that for more than 100 years, Walmart, Starbucks perienced because of the loss of their daugh- they’ve taken care of San Antonio families, and Lowe's have also ter’s body. Experts testified that financial and there’s never been a body stolen,” Reyna announced new benefits compensation would not allow either parent told the jury. for hourly workers, such to experience closure and would leave them He showed a copy of a contract that the Motts as paid time off to care stuck in the grieving process. signed when they agreed on services, noting for sick relatives and Kate Oberlin was diagnosed with advance that the documents stated that another com- paid parental leave. And breast cancer in 2012 and on July 2017 she pany would do the embalming. the number of Americans passed. Before her death, she made her “Even Fred Beyer said at one time or anoth- working part time because husband Deloy promise that she would get a er, all funeral homes use them,” Reyna said. they can't find full-time Home Funeral. This is a heartwarming story “Using B&B didn’t cause the remains to be work has fallen 15 percent about a husband’s journey in fulfilling his stolen.” in the past year. wife’s final wish and saying goodbye to her Reyna told the jury should they wish for MPII Taken together, the data one last time. to award anything, it should be for what a paint a picture of an econo- The funeral business, through its owner, mental health expert said both Motts need — my that is not only creating Robert “Dick” Tips, and his wife, Kristin, intense therapy for three years each, which jobs but also increasingly company president, had denied wrongdoing lawyer Ricardo Reyna said would amount to creating good ones. and have accused Bill Wilburn, Mott’s ex-boy- $125,000. "Employers don't simply friend, of stealing the body. In his rebuttal to the defense, plaintiff attor- raise wages when the labor The body has never been found and no arrests ney Ron Salazar asked the jury, “Is 125,000 market gets tighter; they have been made in the case, which is still the value of a destroyed life?” may also raise the quality under investigation by San Antonio police. “Sharlotte won’t leave her home. She goes to of the job to get people to “MPII lost Julie Mott’s body,” plaintiffs’ attor- work, she drives home and holds the sleeve come on board," Barrera ney Alex Katzman told the jury in his closing of Julie Mott’s jacket. He (Tim) sits all day, said. Robert Dick Tips and his wife Kristin Tips stand at the courtroom argument. “The company claims someone waiting for a red bird,” Salazar said, recalling door in the 131st Civil District Courtroom, as lawyers prepare for the came in and stole it. Whether they lost or Timothy Mott’s testimony that he had read trial, next to a coffin they had brought in for Tips trial on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018