Video: The Apparent Murder Of Howard Frank

As first reported on FailedMessiah.com, a mentally ill beggar was found dead in the Gowanus Canal in Red Hook, Brooklyn, 9 days ago. Evidence collected by FailedMessiah.com points to murder as the cause of death. But the haredi organization Misaskim blocked an autopsy and probably hindered the police investigation. Did it unintentionally (or intentionally) help cover up Frank's murder?

Originally published at 10:00 pm Saturday, July 7, 2012

 

 

Related Post: Exclusive – The Life And Suspicious Death Of Howard Frank.

Comments

[Saw This, looks interesting]

http://grestudentblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-open-poem-to-frum-blogosphere.html

[chicago sam]

Don't you wish everyone was frum?

[Mike]

I would start with his "business partner" as the primary suspect.

[Steve K]

I think there is no evidence yet of murder.
To be honest, what would a murderer gain. unless there is some unknown thingabout the stills collection?

[Shmarya]

$1 million or more in rare pictures isn't enough motive for you?

[Jake]

Using a iPad so can't see video.

Even though the Frum community is powerful the decision to require an autopsy or not is at the sole discretion of the Kings County coroner. And in this case they have to be comfortable in signing the death certificate.

Missaskim can ask all they want. But if the coroner requires an autopsy all Missaskim can do is go to court.

[Shimmy]

Jake, it's pretty well known that even with evidence of foul play, Kings County has nothing on the hatbeards when it comes to influence. People in Flatbush don't wake up and two hours later they're in the ground, no questions asked. It's very, very weird.

[Alex Schindler]

ugh, yeshivish syntax.

"he was saying about how..."

[Measure]

The zealots should be the prime suspects....Levin, Zwiebel, Perlow, Citi Field Team, Concert Ban Rabbis, Drek & his father...

[ruthie]

1. the pics may be worth one million s. but sometimes it takes another 40 years before they become REALLY valuable. it does not mean they are valuable now. also depends who developed the pics, did he, an assistant, a widow? who has the negatives?
granted he may have valuable pics...true....but they may become truly valuable over more time. which is the reason he was sitting on them like a bird sits on a nest.
2. knowing the streets like i do, he was killed.
3. on the autopsy because maybe he was homeless, alone, not a counted member of society...someone stupidly dropped the ball.
4. i would love to be on that investigation....someone killed him.
someone who did not know enough about photography to know it can take decades before his pics are really worth something.
5. may he rest in peace. poor guy. didn't even have the right people listening to him when he was telling them his life was in danger. idiots. stupid fucking idiot rabbis around him.

[ruthie]

i meant to write it can take 40 to 60 years before they become worth the one million dollars. completely possible.
esp. if they're in good shape.
was the storage shed kept climate controlled? were the pics kept away from sunlight? from humidity?
they may not be worth 1 million now..idk....but they would certainly depending on their condition, front and back, be worth something in the future.
again, that's why he was sitting on them like a bird on a nest.
and the person who killed him did not know enough about photography.

[Jake]

Shimmy
They must have doctors willing to sign death certificates.
I don't doubt things happen quickly in Kings County.
I live in Nassau and our chevreh kadisha works quickly as well.

But in this case the person just didn't , not wake up one morning.
He was found with water in his lungs which Shmarya correctly pointed out that he went into the water breathing.

I don't know what happened but ultimately it is up to the coroner.
When my aunt aged 91 diedat home they had cops there for 5 hours until a doctor signed a death certificate and the coroner signed off, and let Missaskim take her away.

With the information Shmarya has brought to light, there needs to be an accounting. Death certificates are public records. The coroner could have written that it was a accidental death, a suicide but what he couldn't write was natural casuses.

[Realist]

Dude your such a stupid asshole! Misaskim trying to hide something! Wtf is wrong with you ? Your a lowlife piece of shit! Too bad it wasn't u!

[Barry]

From the Misakim website

'Misaskim stands at the frontlines, safeguarding the dignity of the deceased, by advocating to prevent autopsies and educating government officials and coroners regarding kavod hames. When an autopsy is unavoidable, Misaskim insures that trained Rabbis are present during the procedure to minimize the desecration of the body.'

Whenever someone dies suddenly and unexpectantly, whether by accident or suicide, an autopsy is always necessary because it may reveal that the cause which seemed apparent was later shown not to be so. An suicide might be a faked murder, an accident may be culpable manslaughter or neglect. That is why medical examiners should report to coroners and why NYC was wrong to abolish that office.

Likewise should anyone die suddenly, no burial should be allowed to take place for at least seven days to allow petitions to be made to coroners or for the investigations of rumors of illegality. Misaskim's complaints should be ignored

You only need to look to Deborah Feldman's book as to the suspicions regarding the early death of Yoelish's first wife and daughters.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde "To lose one daughter, Mr Teitelbaum, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness, to lose three requires investigation'.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Tragic story, and his death just won't get priority from the DA. They probably figure he's another mentally ill marginal member of society, who happened to have some valuables from his past success.

From the other thread on this topic:

"...Frank – who refused all government assistance – was taken in by a non-Jewish man he had recently met at a flea market, a man with very extreme right wing political views and survivalist tendencies..."

If he was eligible for Welfare/Medicaid/Food Stamps, but refused, why is his apparent poverty the Jewish community's fault?

Ironically, if he was indeed a staunch Republican, he lived and died the Republican Dream of how people like himself should be dealt with.

I agree with those who said that a "collection worth a million dollars" may be worth a lot less when you need to cash it in quickly during a personal crisis. And who knows just what kind of condition his collection was in. Who was paying for the storage? A collection like that needs to be kept under strictly controlled temperature and humidity, as well as security.

It's sad to read about Frank and Guma within a few days of each other (although we still don't know Guma's fate); mental illness destroys all success in life.

[Barry]

Would you not need to own the copyright to these photographs for them to have great value?

[Rebitzman]

@Steve

I agree. I don't see enough here to conclude absolutely that a murder took place - less evidence that the Haredi were involved. That the chevre kedushah opposed an autopsy is not particularly compelling - they always (including the "liberal" one I participate with) oppose cutting up the body. That said, we have had to deal with autopsy when in cases where the police knew or suspected foul play AND in instances where the cause of death was not clear. The coroner's office made the call - an that office sits outside the political process

I concede - things may be different in NY.

I will also concede - MUCH here does not add up, and this man and his family DESERVE a full investigation. Shmarya indicates that he has a brother. If he (as the closest living relative) feels an autopsy needs to be done - it is not too late. Nice thing about Jewish burial - we don't screw up the bodies with a lot of chemicals. Not as good perhaps as having done one immediately, but better than no forensics at all.

[ruthie]

barry,

no

copyright is ok but has nothing to do with collecting.
the photographer usually owns the negatives.
then if it's a gem of a photo, some time has passed, if it's in good condition, and the art world likes it...it could be worth a fortune.

[Rebitzman]

Meant to add: It also does appear that whatever living this man hand - it was due to the charity of Chabad members. That does not mean that someone within that organization was not responsible, nor does it mean they were.

It just means that they DID give the man day to day "living" money - apparently when very few others (Shmarya apparently did from Minnesota)were. I also know that $80k is a big ask of any shul.

I've read speculation that loansharks may be involved. Unless they were certain to get the art - this does not make sense. You don't kill someone that owes you money - you break some fingers, a leg perhaps in order to "motivate" them. But the second they are dead - your chances of getting paid drop to zero.

[ruthie]

maybe they dropped to zero/and he was killed is because the killers found out the pics wouldn't be worth a fortune for another 40 years and flipped out! they.were.not.happy.
are his pics valuable? if in good condition, probably, possibly.. yes. but not for another few years.

[Shmarya]

Meant to add: It also does appear that whatever living this man hand - it was due to the charity of Chabad members. That does not mean that someone within that organization was not responsible, nor does it mean they were.

This is absolutely false.

He was mistreated at 770 by gabbaim and rarely went there.

He spent his time begging mostly at Landau's – which is not Chabad.

[rebitzman]

He spent his time begging mostly at Landau's – which is not Chabad.

Noted

[Eli, what me messiah?]

Special Peace Envoy, why do you care what Shmarya thinks or does? A man apparently died under suspicious circumstances. What does anything you have written have to do with whether the cause of his death should be investigated by the police and DA?
Is Frank's death entitled to less than what would be afforded anyone else?

[Eli, what me messiah?]

A man died and you malign his family.

[effie]

These were photos he requested from studios, entertainers, etc, or was able to collect by other means. He leased them out to book publishers, magazines, and film art directors. If copyright was an issue, he would have been sued a long time ago. Looking at his website, he wanted to sell for a price in the "high 8 figures" which seems over priced to me. Obviously, he was not making much money from leasing the photos.

[dh]

First of all, it's not just the age of the pics, it's the signatures, inclusiveness, provenance etc.

Secondly, WSC, mental illness does NOT destroy all success in life. Many (some would say most) of the greatest leaders of the free world had mental illness, as well as scientsts and artists. If it destroys success it is because medication has debilitating side effects and apparently there is not yet enough money to be made finding effective useful psychopharmaceuticals.

Primarily, it is because of the kind of verbage and beliefs seen so often on this blog. It is the constant pervasive pejorative ignorant insults. When people want to volley hurtful accusations the first thing they do is accuse a foe of being mentally ill. They insult by mentioning Bellevue or insult by saying "take meds " or "get help. "

People who do suffer from neurological brain disorders manifested in what is commonly referred to as mental illness do not believe they have this disease and are loathe to ingest debilitating pharmaceuticals. It is hugely because the mind is our sense of self. It is so difficult to internalize that there is something sick about self, brain, mind. It is not like any other illness. All their lives they have heard that what they have, indeed what they are, is so awful that people use it's name to injure and to manifestly and deeply scar.

[Fleishike Kishke]

VIN reports that Mr. Frank may have run afoul of Satmar. VIN's crediting Failed Messiah for breaking the Frank [Murder] story will likely increase this Blogs Frumma readership. Yay.

[just saying]

1) Barry asked: Would you not need to own the copyright to these photographs for them to have great value?

DO baseball card collections not have tremendous value? It has value if someone wants it and i willign to pay for it. Maybe they dont want 1,500 of them but want 25 and he says, you want it -- buy the whole lot. Do you recall how much Jackie O's "fake pearls" were auctioned off for (was it $300,000 -- for FAKE)? The one to ask the value of this collection is

2) I dont know what he was doing at the flea market (maybe trying to sell his photos?) but the guy who took him in should be questioned... and where are the photographs now?

3)
Not wanting to take money from government for his disabilities -- might have been his way of saying, "I am not going to cop out and stoop to that... and just let myself go down the drain." Give the guy credit!

4)
If I end up in a river, I dont want some do-gooder Jewish organization being called before my own family. I dont want them being given custody of my body before my own family. And if I am found in a river -- I WANT AN AUTOPSY done!

5) The coroner's office seems to be getting lazy and letting "the Jews" just take the bodies and less work for them. Case closed. Go home early tonight.

6) Why does Misaskim rush to get custody of the dead bodies and threaten the other organization "chesed shel emes" (I.e., "If I see you there, I'm going to cut off your balls!") Do they get gov funds for each body they pick up?

7) Might they exhume the body and do an autopsy now? Might be the wise thing to do... this isn't the first time someone on the heimish Brooklyn world ended up like this, while reportedly in debt... I still remember the Lipa Labin in case you forgot...

8) could be one of ours... wouldn't you want to know if the guy sitting next to you at minyan has another dark side...afterall, there already are a few murderers requesting kosher food in prison... men who murdered wife or another...some get away with it...and sometimes they don't. But don't kid yourself...

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Dh, I apologize for my wording, I was trying to make some reflective statement tying the Frank story with the Guma story, and I didn't do very well.
Your 12:57 posting is excellent.

[just saying]

the one to ask the value of the collection might be someone like Ron Gallela -- who happens to have a very, very nice house... so it seems his business in collecting celebrity photographs paid off quite well.

[dh]

WSC, on behalf of Winston Churchill, whose Bipolar had him dictating to his secretary while giggling nude in the water of his bath and playing with his rubber duckies....when just the day before he had one of what he called his "dark dog days " when his paralyzing depression obliterated him, and Isaac Newton who was so ravaged with mental illness that when the joyless paranoid tried to get out of bed in the morning he was immobilized for hours due to the rush of thoughts in his brain, thank you.

[moshe]

misasskim should be put out of business they botched up a murder case of shele danishevsky where they did not do a autopsy the alleged murderer is now a free man

[just saying]

The brother ought to contest the "will" giving the photographs to another. Clearly Howard Frank was under "duress" when writing that will mere days before he dies...

[monsey_yid]

for sure the Rabbis did it. Hang the Rabbis ALL the rabbis. start with lubavitcher, Satmar, and don't forget Bobov

[Devorah]

" VIN's crediting Failed Messiah for breaking the Frank [Murder] story will likely increase this Blogs Frumma readership. Yay."

Ugh. They will blame Shmarya for everything wrong in their cult--rape, incest, fraud, murder, etc. They should stick to VIN where most posts are censored, at least none of mine have ever been published there.

[Jake]

Many web sites " sensor posts".

Shmarya is probably the most liberal of all in terms sensoring.
Which is great when people are expressing ideas that are the opposite in what Shmarya believes in.

I personally dislike the childlike foul language that many posters feel the need to use. And posts that are hateful and attempt to dehumanize or villanize all orthodox or charadei Jewery.

Yes there are problems and issues to disscuss. It would be great if moe charade Jews or orthodox Jews would be here posting and discussing.

But the atmosphere on this blog primarily created by the participants is a cesspool.many orthodox rabbis look at this blog everyday as well as many regular orthodox Jews. However they won't post here even under a pseudonym because of the level of discourse.

Shmarya does a great job in reporting and aggregating the negative news in the orthodox community.

Considering that VIN is owned by Satmer Chassidim they also do a excellent job with their website. They do report on negative things in the charade community and they do accept many comments that are not exactly Satmer / charadei friendly. I know, I have made some of those comments.