“There we’ll lay it all out on the line for us all to hear so that the trust can be reinstalled back with the whānau here at Tipene Funerals,” Tipene said.

Bakulich, who is currently before the courts and pleaded not guilty to previous charges last November, now faces two charges of interfering with a grave or human remains, three charges of obtaining by deception sums over $1000 and nine charges of obtaining by deception sums between $500 and $1000.

Bakulich will appear again in the Auckland District Court on February 28.

More people could be implicated in the scandal, with police saying they cannot rule out further arrests.

Some affected families found out about the rubbish bags when Cyclone Gabrielle damaged the mausoleum in which bodies were interred at Waikumete Cemetery in Auckland.

Repairs forced the council to disinter the bodies, revealing a shocking and confronting sight for the families present.

Francis Tipene told the Herald he had “no idea” of anyone else being involved.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it, from [the Herald],” Tipene said when approached for comment on the new development.

“I’ll wait for them [police] to approach me and then we’ll go from there,” he said.

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