CHARLES CITY - A judge will decide a case against a husband and wife who are accused of fraudulently operating a Floyd County cemetery.

The fate of Albert and Mitzi Fenzloff, former owners of Sunnyside Memory Gardens, is in the hands of District Court Judge John Mackey. Their defense attorney waived the couple's right to a jury trial, which was to begin today.

Mackey will conduct a trial on the minutes, meaning he will review court documents and rule on the couple's guilt or innocence. That information includes allegations by the state and minutes of testimony from witnesses.

Mackey could make a decision as soon as next month, according to Bob Brammer, a spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting the case.

The Fenzloffs were originally charged in 2006 in Floyd County District Court with first-degree theft, first-degree fraud and ongoing criminal conduct. They also now face lesser charges.

According to amended trial information, Mitzi Fenzloff is charged with first-degree theft and second-degree fraud. Albert Fenzloff is charged with second-degree fraud.

In 2007 Mackey moved the trial to Franklin County after accepting the Fenzloffs' claim that finding an impartial jury would be too difficult in Floyd County. The couple later filed a motion to change the venue again - this time to Hancock County - claiming Mitzi Fenzloff's family ties in Franklin County would also be a problem.

Judge Mackey denied the second motion in July.

Sunnyside Memory Gardens, which had been owned and operated by the Fenzloffs since 2003, went under state control in 2005. At issue was money paid by customers the state alleges was not put in trusts and memorials that were not placed.

St. Charles Township assumed operation of the 16-acre cemetery in 2007.

Contact Mary Pieper at

mary.pieper@globegazette.com.