The Pennsylvania State Board of Funeral Directors adopted final discipline against one funeral director and rejected a proposed consent agreement involving another, with both cases arising out of criminal convictions.
At its March 25 meeting, the board suspended the license of funeral director Raphael Hunt-Irving based on his 2019 federal felony convictions for drug distribution and firearms possession. The charges led to him serving 72 months in jail, followed by four years of supervised release. The board acknowledged Hunt-Irving’s community involvement and efforts at rehabilitation, but found that the aggravated nature of his offenses, and his prior license suspension stemming from a conviction for tampering with public records, required an active suspension of his license. But the board did not impose a civil penalty and allowed Hunt-Irving to seek reinstatement of his license after completion of his supervised release.
The board rejected a settlement involving another funeral director convicted of aggravated assault and DUI. The deal would have suspended the funeral director’s license indefinitely, until at least the completion of his prison sentence and probation, but would have allowed the funeral director to apply to stay the suspension in favor of probation after one year. The board rejected the agreement as too lenient. Because the agreement was rejected, the identity of the funeral director was not revealed.
The board also announced its intention to review and vote on a pending regulations package at its May 13 meeting. It also tabled potential changes to the request to hold human remains form until after consideration of those regulations, which could change the 10-day rule underlying that form.
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