Kani International Inc. made several gravestones for Colonial Memorials, which allegedly did not provide stones to customers or refund their money. (Ed Murray for NJ Advance Media/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — Just weeks after World War II veteran James Puliti died in 2021, his Mercer County family began getting calls from Colonial Memorials offering to create a headstone for their beloved patriarch.
The family was busy dealing with final arrangements and held off choosing a memorial until the following year. After repeated contacts from Colonial, a representative from the company came to their home in September 2022 and the family wrote a check for nearly $7,000, according to Puliti’s daughter, Paula.
Colonial was supposed to provide a military footstone marker recognizing Puliti’s service in the U.S. Army Air Corps and engrave a headstone that was already in place at his grave. The family never researched Colonial Memorials or got any quotes from competing companies.
“We didn’t do any of that with this,” Paula Puliti said. “You never think a headstone place is going to deceive you.”
Her family is among dozens in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who claim they were ripped off by Gregory J. Stefan Jr., who operated headstone companies under various names, including Colonial Memorials. The victims say they paid Stefan thousands, but never received their stones or refunds.
Now, a New Jersey headstone manufacturer that produced stones for Colonial — and said it was never paid for its work — is trying to locate customers like the Pulitis to get them their stones.
The allegations against Stefan span multiple jurisdictions and he remains jailed in Pennsylvania, where he faces the largest number of charges.
Attorneys for Stefan did not respond to requests for comment about the allegations.
The district attorney’s office in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, recently charged Stefan with 280 counts, including theft by deception, deceptive business practices, conspiracy and receiving stolen property.
Kani International Inc. made several gravestones for Colonial Memorials, which allegedly did not provide stones to customers or refund their money. Kani alleges it was never paid either. (Ed Murray for NJ Advance Media/TNS)
Victims have come forward since 2014 to complain about the Stefan family’s business practices, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in the Delaware County case, which describes 69 victims who paid thousands of dollars each for gravestones.
Between 2014 and 2022, the total losses to the victims exceeded $190,000, Pennsylvania officials said.
In New Jersey, Stefan’s also been charged with third-degree counts of theft by deception in Bergen, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer and Monmouth counties, and third-degree theft by unlawful taking in Hunterdon County. All of those charges have been filed since August.
He is currently barred from conducting business in Pennsylvania, but also operates Colonial Memorials in New Jersey.
The Better Business Bureau revoked its accreditation of Colonial Memorials in September and issued an alert on its website.
Kani International Inc. in Hillsborough — a wholesale memorial manufacturer that sandblasts, diamond etches and laser etches for headstone retailers up and down the East Coast — has about 15 stones completed for Colonial sitting in its warehouse, said marketing manager Darlene McMahon.
For nearly two years, Colonial worked with Kani and business was going smoothly with Colonial paying upon receiving completed products, McMahon said.
Then, Stefan and Colonial stopped communicating and left Kani with about 30 stones ordered in the last year that were never picked up or paid for, she said.
One of the stones never paid for or picked up is for one of Stefan’s own deceased family members, McMahon noted.
She has been trying to contact families of Colonial customers to let them know Kani has their stones completed. But, McMahon does not have contact information for the families because they placed their orders directly with Colonial.
Left with only the names of the deceased family members on the stones, she turned to obituaries and cemeteries to try and track down families. She’s also been in contact with several police departments investigating Colonial.
For the families they have reached, Koni is charging only what it costs to cover the company’s expenses for making the stone, minus whatever markup Colonial allegedly charged, McMahon said.
Darlene McMahon, marketing manager for Kani International Inc., stands with some gravestones stored at the facility in Hillsborough, N.J., on Wednesday, Dec., 13, 2024. McMahon says the company has about 15 unclaimed stones at their warehouse and they are trying to locate customers who were allegedly bilked thousands of dollars by another individual, for gravestones they never received. (Ed Murray for NJ Advance Media/TNS)
She hopes it will at least bring some peace of mind for grieving families while they try to recover the money they allegedly paid Stefan.
“We’re just trying to get them their stones. I feel bad for these people,” McMahon said. “They’ve already lost their mother, their father, whomever. And now they have to deal with something else. Nobody should have to do this.”
Anyone who did business with Colonial and thinks Koni may have their stone is asked to call 908-308-8962.
The Puliti family has already been in contact with Koni about James Puliti’s missing stone.
The family turned over its $7,000 check to Colonial Memorials in September 2022, Paula Puliti said. The first sign of trouble came in August, when the family received a letter from Colonial stating the company had been experiencing financial problems for two years and didn’t have the money to complete the job it promised the previous year.
Then, the family began investigating the company’s background.
“That’s when the panic set in,” Paula Puliti said.
The Pulitis read about accusations against Stefan in Pennsylvania. Paula Puliti tried contacting Colonial and received no response.
She contacted Hamilton Township Police and filed complaints with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Pennsylvania’s attorney general and the Better Business Bureau.
A Hamilton Township Police detective did some digging and determined Kani had the Pulitis’ missing military footstone marker.
In addition to providing the completed footstone, Kani is also handling the cleaning and engraving of James Puliti’s headstone, as promised under the Colonial contract.
“They’re charging us, but it’s a real reduced fee,” Paula Puliti said. “They were really helpful. Really good communication from day one. They feel bad for all the people that got stiffed.”
Kani is also a victim, she added.
“They’re owed money, too. They’re just trying to help out the other victims and get us what we need,” Paula Puliti said. “It’s just a mess all around.”
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has 41 open consumer complaints dating back to September 2022 related to Stefan and his business practices, a spokeswoman for the agency confirmed this week.
A grand jury in Ocean County indicted Stefan last month on a third-degree charge of theft by unlawful taking.
He’s due back in court in Pennsylvania Dec. 20 for arraignment in his Delaware County case.
Paula Puliti doesn’t know if her family will ever recover the money they allegedly paid Colonial, but she wishes her father was still around as they try.
“He was always the rock,” she said. “He came from a family of eight children. He had seven of his own children. It was just fun and family. We were so lucky to have him for so long.”
James Puliti would have fought back against any alleged theft by deception, his daughter said.
“He always did the right thing. And when he saw other people not doing the right thing, it really stuck in his craw,” she said. “He didn’t put up with any nonsense like that.”
©2023 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit nj.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
