Rather than reorganizing his debt, Michael S. Tomaszewski, the local funeral director also facing more than 200 criminal charges, is now seeking to dismiss all of his debt.
Today U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Carl L. Bucki signed an order converting Tomaszewski's bankruptcy filing from Chapter 11, in which a judge helps debtors and creditors arrive at a repayment plan, to Chapter 7, which would allow Tomaszewski to liquidate most of his assets and have any debts not paid after liquidation discharged.
Tomaszewski, both personally, and his company Acme Holdings of New York filed for bankruptcy in Federal Court on Feb. 5. Combined, Tomaszewski lists $1,094,346 in assets against $3,242,390 in liabilities.
That doesn't include any restitution he may be ordered to pay if convicted of the nearly 200 criminal charges he faces locally.
The 48-year-old funeral director and owner of Michael S. Tomaszewski Funeral Home and Cremation Chapel is charged with 91 counts of failure to deposit monies paid in advance in connection with agreements for funeral merchandise or services. He also charged with 61 counts of third-degree grand larceny, 29 counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, and three counts of petit larceny.
According to the Sheriff's Office arrest report from July 23, Tomaszewski received deposits from customers ranging from $350 to $15,500. His customers allegedly suffered a combined loss of more than $525,000.
The bankruptcy filing for Acme Holding remains Chapter 11, but there has been no activity on that case since February.
Yesterday, Tomaszewski was expected to formally accept a plea deal in his criminal case but for reasons unstated in court, the defendant declined to proceed and was granted a continuance of his case until April 13.
