Funeral director shared concerns about cancer deaths with Masilotti

New and startling information in the investigation into an alleged cancer cluster in Palm Beach County.
A local funeral director tells CBS12 he noticed an unusual number of cancer deaths back in the late 1990's in the western communities.
And at the time he tried to get one of our elected leaders to do something about it.
Julian Almeida, a licensed funeral director and vice-president of Palms West Funeral Home, says at least a decade ago, he knew something was wrong. Too many people who lived in the western communities such as the Acreage were dying of cancer. But when he brought his concerns up with a local politician, those concerns apparently fell on deaf ears.
"I'm disappointed 'cause I brought it up and took the effort to point it out and nothing was done," Almeida said.
Almeida says he tried to get Tony Masilotti, who at the time was the mayor of Royal Palm Beach, to do something.
Because Almeida, in his job at Palms West Funeral Home, noticed something wasn't right. A large number of people, young people under the age of 50 who lived in western communities such as the Acreage, Royal Palm Beach and Wellington, were dying of cancer.
So he brought it up with Masilotti in 1997 or 1998.
"Basically what we discussed in the casual conversation was there's a high number of young people dying of cancer in the western communities compared to the east side of town," Almeida said.
Before joining Palms West Funeral Home, Almeida had worked at a different funeral home in West Palm Beach, and from his experience there, most of the people who had died of cancer in the eastern part of the county were elderly.
The ones in the western communities who died of cancer were younger and that's why Almeida felt there was a trend that needed closer scrutiny.
He says Masilotti never took any action as far as he knows.
"He said he would look into it, but nothing else was ever done," Almeida said.
Almeida says he was so concerned about the cancer issue that he discussed it with Masilotti again a few years later, when Masilotti was a Palm Beach County Commissioner.  Once again, he says they had a casual conversation, but Almeida did not make a formal request in writing for an investigation.  Masilotti, he says, to his knowledge never took any action.
Masilotti later resigned from the county commission due to corruption charges. Almeida says some action should've been taken when he first mentioned it to Masilotti in the late 1990's.
"It should've been checked 11 years ago.  Maybe it would've saved some people from getting cancer," Almeida said.
Tony Masilotti is now serving a federal prison sentence.
We tried to reach his lawyer for comment. He did not return a call.
Almeida is just glad that now it appears there will be an investigation into this apparent cancer cluster in the western communities.
Brain tumors have affected nearly 40 families who live in a three-mile radius in the Acreage.