Menachem ("Max") Stark (July 15, 1974 – January 3, 2014) was an American real estate developer whose badly burned body was found smoldering in a dumpster outside a gas station in Great Neck, New York.
The headline, referring to the notion that Stark had acquired a number of enemies during the course of his real estate dealings, sparked condemnation from local officials for showing insensitivity towards the victim, and for seeming to condone crime.
[3] Tenants had described revolting conditions in Stark-owned residential buildings for many years, although shortly after Stark's death, glowing reviews of his properties began to appear on social media sites.
[4][5][6] Among Stark and Perlmutter's creditors was the Broadway Bank of Chicago, notable for its loans to organized crime figures, such as convicted bookmaker Michael "Jaws" Giorango.
[7] Bank accounts belonging to Southside LLC (Stark and Perlmutter's corporation) appear to have been tampered with to conceal a diversion of funds.
[8] Jonathan Flaxer, a trustee appointed by the bankruptcy court to oversee the Southside LLC case,[9] said that Stark had "obtained cashier's checks made out to a multitude of individuals, entities, and law firms to pay for personal debts or for use in other real estate transactions".
[14] A surveillance camera positioned near the office captured images of Stark struggling with two attackers for nearly five minutes, before being forced into a silver Dodge Caravan in an intended robbery.
[17] His badly burned body was found the next day smoldering in a dumpster outside a Getty gas station on Cutter Mill Road in Great Neck, New York.
He pleaded guilty in 2019 to both counts in exchange for a plea bargain offered by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun.
[24] The New York Post featured an image of the deceased Stark on the front page of their January 5 edition, with the headline, "Who Didn't Want Him Dead?".
[29] The front page sparked outrage, specifically among members of the Orthodox Jewish community, amid suggestions that the Post was helping to create a climate of violence.
The Jewish Daily Forward noted that, "For his Satmar friends and colleagues, Stark, 38, embodied the best of their world: a generous person with an open wallet for anyone in search of aid.
"[34] The Forward added that, "Stark appears to have personified a contradiction familiar both inside and outside ultra-Orthodox circles: a pious philanthropist whose business dealings didn't always live up to avowed communal standards."