Robert Merkle was scheduled to go on trial Monday in a case that accused him of bilking tens of thousands of dollars from the endowment fund for the Northside cemetery he operated.

        But the trial was delayed by a defense motion contending the 62-year-old Methodist pastor was improperly indicted.

        Mr. Merkle asked prosecutors to dismiss the charges against him because some of the offenses he is accused of took place in 1995, prior to a mid-1996 change in Ohio criminal codes.

        His attorney, Richard Magnus, argued that prosecutors should either dismiss the charges, or recharge Mr. Merkle under the appropriate statutes.

        Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said Monday the indictment is fine as it stands.

        He said his office can legally charge Mr. Merkle under the existing statutes and that a memorandum objecting to Mr. Magnus' motion will be filed.

        “It's a novel legal argument made by a defense attorney representing his client,” Mr. Allen said.

        Mr. Merkle, who operates the Wesleyan Cemetery on Colerain Avenue, is accused of three counts of theft and one count of failing to maintain an endowment care fund.

        The prosecution contends the endowment contained more than $97,000 that was supposed to be spent on grounds keeping and other cemetery maintenance.

        Instead, prosecutors say, Mr. Merkle drained the fund, using it to pay for personal expenses.

        Opposing sides will meet next week to argue before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge David P. Davis.

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