Abducted Hasidic landlord's body found in New York dumpster

Police say real estate developer Menachem Stark was suffocated before his body was placed in dumpster, burned.

By JTA
Hasidic man. [File] (photo credit: REUTERS)
Hasidic man. [File]
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The body of a Hasidic real estate developer who was kidnapped outside his Brooklyn office was found burning in a dumpster in Long Island.
Menachem Stark’s body was found late on Friday afternoon. His funeral was held on Saturday night at the conclusion of Shabbat.
Thousands of people, mostly Satmar Hasids, attended the funeral in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Stark, 39 and a father of eight, reportedly was suffocated before his body was placed in the dumpster and burned, according to police.
Video footage taken from Stark’s office reportedly showed him being taken into a van after a struggle Thursday night outside his Williamsburg office; it is not known who are his abductors. The family had offered a reward of $100,000 for Stark’s safe return.
Public records show Stark has a string of foreclosures and a $1.3 million judgment against him, according to reports. A police source told the New York Daily News that Stark “had many enemies.” Some have accused him of being a slumlord, according to the newspaper.
At the funeral, Stark’s family members and religious leaders praised his charitable giving, including much done anonymously.