Patrick Vereb, accused of pet cremation fraud, expected to plead guilty
No deal on sentencing has been reached with prosecutors.
By MEGAN TROTTER
TribLive
Whatever amount of punishment former pet crematory director Patrick Vereb gets won’t be enough for Harrison resident Pam Yaconis.
Vereb, 72, is accused by the state Attorney Gener- al’s Office of tossing ani – mal remains into landfills instead of providing proper afterlife care.
He is expected to plead guilty Oct. 22 during an appearance before Judge Jaime Hickton in Allegheny County Court. Details of the agreement were not made available Thursday.
“What this guy did, it’s sick,” said Yaconis, who entrusted Vereb to cremate her 11-year-old Aussie mix, Blue. “My granddaughter still cries over this dog. She was so little when I got Blue, and she was attached to her for the dog’s whole life.
“We have a blanket with the dog’s picture that she covers up with every day. I hope he gets jail time and has to pay everyone restitution and then some.”
A representative for Vereb’s attorney, Louis Emmi, said his office does not comment on pending cases.
Vereb, of Hazelwood, owned a funeral home and pet crematory in Harrison and another in Hazelwood.
He was charged in April 2025 with multiple felony counts that include theft by deception, receiving stolen property and deceptive business practices.
The Attorney General’s Office alleged Vereb de frauded more than 6,500 pet owners between 2021 and 2024, receiving about $660,000 for cremations that never happened or were improperly handled.
In addition to being accused of dumping pets’ bodies, Vereb is accused of routinely giving pet owners ashes from animals that were not theirs.
He originally had been scheduled to be in court Monday for a jury trial but instead, indicated he would plead guilty to all charges.
He did this with no agreement as to what his sentence would be on the lead offense — theft by deception — which is a first-degree felony, ac cording to Attorney Gen- eral’s Office spokesman Brett Hambright.
Irwin resident Tiffany Mantzouridis interned for Vereb in 2024 and is credited as the whistleblower in the case.
She went to authorities after just six months working for Vereb with concerns that “he could never name the crematory he was using for the smaller pets or the cemetery.”
Mantzouridis said there were no records of pets less than 30 pounds. She guessed that Vereb was cremating larger pets and doling out multiple bags of ashes from one animal’s remains.
“It is incredibly disheartening as someone who had to witness the disgusting things that he was doing firsthand, as well as being a victim of his actions, to know that he will be taking a plea,” she said. “No matter what his sentence, it could not be long enough to make up for the mental distress and heartache that he inflicted on thousands of unknowing victims.”
Mantzouridis plans to attend Vereb’s court appearance next week. It has been a long 18 months waiting for justice, she said.
For Terry Onufer of Buffalo Township, the best outcome would be to ensure Vereb is stripped of his professional license and never permitted near a funeral or burial business again.
He still feels betrayed by what he called Vereb’s greediness, preying on the brokenhearted.
“Hopefully justice will be served, not only for the pet owners but also for the pets themselves who were desecrated,” Onufer said.
