By Allen Howard
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The controversy over the Wesleyan Cemetery in Northside is not dead yet.

Friends of the cemetery, most of them with relatives buried there, have formed a non-profit group to maintain the cemetery since Robert Merkle, the caretaker, was sentenced to prison last year.

Merkle was found guilty of two counts of theft and one count of failing to maintain a cemetery endowment care fund.

The 62-year-old was convicted of looting Wesleyan Cemetery's upkeep fund of $93,000 between 1995 and 1999. Last June he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

"We are trying to raise enough money to buy a ride mower,'' said Debbie Redmon of Northside. "The ride mower would cost about $9,000. But in a long run that would be cheaper than us paying $100 a day to rent a mower.''

The 25-acre cemetery has 17,000 graves, 1,000 of them belonging to veterans.

Since organizing, the group has been cutting the grass and cleaning the cemetery. It has hired a lawyer to look into buying the cemetery and members are protesting the release of Merkle after he has served six months.

"We plan to send up a delegation" to a release hearing, said Albert Teopfort of Mount Airy. "We would like to buy the cemetery or at least be declared the official caretakers.''

Redmon said the group has plans for a Monte Carlo fund-raiser Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Amvets building, 3620 Harrison Ave., Cheviot, and a dance at the Charles Gailey VFW Post, 8326 Brownsway Lane, Groesbeck, March 29

E-mail ahoward@enquirer.com