NORTHAMPTON — Former South Hadley funeral director William W. Ryder pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $400,000 in prepaid funeral arrangements in Hampshire Superior Court Friday morning and was sentenced to jail, two-and-half years after authorities shut down his funeral home and launched an investigation into its business affairs.
In the meantime, Ryder’s defense attorney said in court that the state Attorney General’s Office has worked out a settlement agreement that will compensate the nearly six dozen clients who lost thousands of dollars making funeral arrangements with Ryder.
Ryder, 55, operated the former Ryder Funeral Home in South Hadley. He admitted to embezzling about $431,625 from 69 clients between 2001 and 2014 by pleading guilty to 69 counts of larceny greater than $250. He also pleaded guilty to five charges of improper disposition of a human body and one charge of life insurance fraud.
Ryder originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in August 2015.
Judge Richard Carey sentenced Ryder to two years in the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction on a larceny charge with one of those years stayed during a five-year probation period. He also received six months of jail time on each of the improper disposition charges, time to be served concurrently with the year in jail.
There are still pending civil cases against Ryder.