STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Complaints have been filed with multiple agencies about a Staten Island funeral home on behalf of a woman who prepaid for her services, the Advance/SILive.com has learned.
Bianca Lucchesi, a 94-year-old Grasmere resident, said she prepaid thousands to A. Azzara Funeral Home more than 10 years ago, but decided late in 2024 that she wanted to move her funds to a different funeral home.
A contract provided to the Advance/SILive.com verifies the timing and payment. Even in instances when such prepayments are considered “irrevocable” in New York state – in other words, no refunds – state law does require a funeral home that has been prepaid to transfer the funds within 10 days of such a request, according to the state Department of Health, the agency that oversees the Bureau of Funeral Directing.
However, Lucchesi, and Rocco Paccione, owner of Martin Hughes Funeral Home – where she hopes to move her funds – said that after multiple calls and a certified letter to A. Azzara the funds still have not been transferred.
As a result, Paccione said he has filed complaints with the New York State Attorney General’s office, Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon’s office and the state Bureau of Funeral Directors against A. Azzara, located at 183 Sand Ln. in Arrochar.
The District Attorney’s office and the Bureau of Funeral Directors acknowledged the complaints, but both agencies said they would not comment on investigative matters.
The attorney general’s office also confirmed they received the complaint and a spokesperson said they are looking into it.
Years of savings
Lucchesi said she and her late husband Matteo saved money over the years after immigrating to Staten Island from Italy. They used $31,100 of that money in 2014 to prepay their funerals. They wanted to ensure arrangements after their passings would be, at least in part, taken care of by removing the financial burden from their family.
Matteo died in 2015 and his funeral was provided by A. Azzara Funeral Home, Lucchesi and her daughter Laura told the Advance/SILive.com. However, 10 years later, they say they have been unable to reach anybody at A. Azzara Funeral Home about the remaining money for Lucchesi’s funeral.
According to a spokesperson for the state Department of Health, money prepaid to a funeral home must by law be held in an interest-bearing Pre-Plan Funeral Trust account in the name of the client or be held as a government-backed investment, such as U.S. Treasury bills – something Lucchesi said she wasn’t aware of when the contract was signed.
Once money is placed into a Trust, the owner of the account would receive a yearly 1099 tax form outlining interest accrued on the account, according to the state Department of Health.
“The location and amount of interest earned will appear on the IRS form 1099-INT sent to you in January of each year,” the Department of Health spokesperson said, but Lucchesi said she has never received any information about an account or a 1099.
The pre-arrangement contract obtained by the Advance/SILive.com was signed by Lucchesi and by A. Azzara Funeral Home, Inc. Director Steven A. Cognata on June 3, 2014. It shows Lucchesi wrote an initial check for $10,000, paying $15,050 total for her funeral, and itemizes specifics for the funeral, such as preparation and transportation of remains, supervision of the funeral, use of the facility, hearse, casket and other items requested by Lucchesi.
Chatter about A. Azzara in the community, and an ABC7 report about a family accusing the funeral home of a long delay in completing a prepaid tombstone inscription, prompted Laura to look into her mother’s pre-planned arrangement.
“Not getting the money back [is] not an option for us,” Lucchesi and Laura told the Advance/SILive.com in an emotional phone call. “We need that money back.”
The Advance/SILive.com was unable to reach Cognata for comment after five phone calls, several text messages and two visits to A. Azzara Funeral Home.
In response to the ABC 7 report, the media outlet said A. Azzara released a statement explaining the tombstone inscription delay.
“There are factors that can affect the timing of the work, like weather and other funerals in the area that may not allow access to the grave,” the statement said. “The order was done on time. We went over and above for the family.”
The Advance/SILive.com has learned that complaints were filed with the New York State Attorney General’s office, Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon’s office, the 122 Precinct, the state Bureau of Funeral Directors, and other agencies against A. Azzara Funeral Home, located at 183 Sand Ln. in Arrochar.(Photos by Kristin F. Dalton for the Staten Island Advance)
‘Advocating for the family’
In November 2024 Laura, on behalf of her mother, asked A. Azzara Funeral Home for the funds to be transferred to Martin Hughes Funeral Home, only to receive no response from A. Azzara, according to Laura.
Paccione, whose funeral home is located at 530 Narrows Rd. S. in Grasmere, says he attempted to contact Cognata via certified mail and email, to initiate the transfer of the pre-arrangement funds from A. Azzara Funeral Home to Martin Hughes Funeral Home in November.
“We have requested information on this account to update the record from Pre-Plan as well as the Cooperative Funeral Fund, but no account was found,” the certified letter states, referring to the trust management programs used by funeral homes in New York state for prepaid trust accounts. “It is our hope that the funds are in a non-traditional interest-bearing account.”
Monies were requested to be sent within 10 days of receipt of the letter or Paccione said he would contact the New York State Bureau of Funeral Directing and other agencies.
“I’m here to advocate [for this family] and help them hopefully receive their money,” Paccione told the Advance/SILive.com.
Paccione says Cognata eventually told him the money would be sent after he was released from the hospital and recovered from medical conditions, however, the money has yet to be received, said Paccione.
“I would see [Cognata] at church, he would donate services to people in need in the community, I considered him a friend, but I feel so betrayed,” Laura said. “And he took care of my father’s funeral so well, so I have no complaints about that, but where’s the money for my mother?”
Other communication complaints
Three other Staten Islanders spoke to the Advance/SILive.com, some on the condition of anonymity, about an alleged lack of communication and delays from A. Azzara, as well as another pre-paid funeral arrangement contract where a 1099 was never received.
Concord resident Ralph Barone, 94, said he also prepaid for his funeral in 1994 at A. Azzara Funeral Home and says he has never received a yearly 1099 from the IRS.
Barone said at the time the agreement was signed he was never informed the money was being placed in an interest-bearing account or being held as a government-backed investment.
“The funeral director must notify you where your money has been deposited within 30 days of the deposit,” the Department of Health advises in an online consumer guide for prepaying funeral arrangements.
Barone said he would like to better understand his prepayment, but has not been able to reach Cognata or anybody at A. Azzara Funeral Home about the status of his money or the pre-arrangement.
