LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Losing a loved one is one of the toughest things to experience. One Las Vegas man recently laid his father to rest, but says he's still looking for closure. So when the mortuary couldn't provide answers, he reached out to 13 Action News for help.
"A little disgusted. A little um, why can't this get done?" says Dominick Virga.
He want answers. He lost his 97-year-old father, also named Dominick, back in December. He was placed next to his late-wife in the family mausoleum at Palm Eastern Cemetery.
STILL NO PLAQUE
"But here it is eight months has gone by and still no plaque. And we can't get a correct answer on when they're going to put a plaque up," says Virga.
He says his family paid for and expects to see his father's name when they visit the site.
"It doesn't bring closure. Closure to the family. Each time we go there, we get angry to see that the plaque wasn't there. When the grandchildren and children visit the grave site, they look up and they say, Where's Papa's name?" says Virga.
He says he's spoken with a number of Palm's representatives but feels like he's getting the runaround.
"The first excuse was, we're in COVID times. We said, okay, we understand that. The second excuse is, do we have the correct spelling of his name?" says Virga.
But Dominick says it was one of the last phone calls he found to be the most frustrating.
"She says there will be another six months to a year. I said, are you kidding... This is taking a long time. It's been eight months and still you have no date in sight to put up the plaque name," says Virga.
NEVADA STATE BOARD
That's when Dominick reached out to 13 Action News. We pointed him to the Nevada State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services. It regulates all funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries, and handles all complaints.
"They can certainly call our office and we can walk them through the process. Or sometimes their questions are a little more simple and we can kind of guide them in a direction that they can take," says the Board's Executive Director, Jennifer Kandt.
She says when possible her office can act as a type of mediator.
"Sometimes there is the lack of communication that we found going on between the parties, and sometimes we can kind of facilitate that a bit and move things along. But no case is too small," says Kandt.
We also reached out to Celena DiLullo, President at Palm Mortuaries and Cemeteries. In a statement she says:
"The delays for Mr. Virga are unfortunate. Several associates did work with the family on getting the bronze plaque. It took until the end of June to receive what's called an assigned layout approval from the family for the plaque. Once ordered, it takes about three months to receive it..."
ARRIVING IN SEPTEMBER
"The plaque is shipping out in September and should arrive later that month. Palm Mortuary is sorry about any delays and wants the best for any family."
As for Dominick, he appreciates the apology, but says he just wants closure.
"It brings a lot of angst to our family, a lot of anxiety and saying, gee, just get this done, please," says Virga.
