Real Estate Crime & Punishment

Menachem Stark

Menachem "Max" Stark, 39, was a Brooklyn-based real estate developer and multifamily property owner. Stark, who according to published reports owed more than $1 million in debts to loan sharks, was kidnapped by two unidentified men outside his office in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint section of Brooklyn on the evening of Jan. 2. His partially burned body was found later that week in a dumpster in the Great Neck section of Long Island. Police believe he died from suffocation and suspect that his kidnappers may have been hired assasins from outside the U.S., potentially from Eastern Europe.

The Greenpoint Hotel

One of the properties Stark owned was the Greenpoint Hotel on Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn. A story posted on Greenpointers.com in March 2013 listed a long list of potential housing code violations at the building, including mold, vermin, issues with heat and hot water and issues with electricity. However, the average monthly rents at the property ranged between $250 and $350 -- a fraction of the average rents for the city in general and definitely below the average rent in one of the most expensive areas of Brooklyn.

100 South 4th Street and 120 South 4th Street

Stark and his business partner, Israel Perlmutter, also owned 100 South 4th Street and 120 South 4th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In July 2011, The Real Deal reported that the two faced $51 million in personal guarantee and foreclosure lawsuits, involving several different banks, related to the properties.

239 Banker Street

Another Brooklyn building that Stark and his partner owned, 239 Bankers Street, was converted from a factory into residential lofts without the necessary city permits, according to a December 2012 story in The New York Times. Since 2009, the building was cited for multiple violations by the New York City Buildings Department, the paper reported.

Controversial New York Post Cover

In addition to the loan sharks Stark owed money to, police may be investigating the possible involvement of Stark's partner Israel Perlmutter in the plot, reports The Jerusalem Post. Perlmutter may have drawn suspicion by reportedly changing his story several times.

The Funeral Scene

Stark, a member of Williamsburg's Hasidic community, left behind a wife and eight children.

Stranger than Fiction

In what has turned out to be an ironic twist, Stark became the winner of an $18,000 charity raffle in March, months after his death. The raffle, which took place in December 2013, was organized by Keren Chasanim of Bobov to help poor Jewish couples pay for their weddings. Stark contributed $100 to the charity, buying 100 raffle tickets.