A Satmar slumlord, Menachem “Max” Stark, was allegedly kidnapped outside his office last night at 331 Rutledge Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and his family members are now issuing an urgent appeal for volunteers to canvass nearby buildings to see if there is security camera footage of the purported abduction – a task normally handled by police investigators.
Menachem Stark (Photo credit: Eli Wohl/Vin News)
Satmar Slumlord Allegedly Kidnapped
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A Satmar slumlord, Menachem “Max” Stark, was allegedly kidnapped outside his office last night at 331 Rutledge Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and his family members are now issuing an urgent appeal for volunteers, VIN News reported. The volunteers are reportedly needed to canvass nearby buildings to see if there is security camera footage of the purported abduction, a task normally handled by police investigators if a crime has been committed.
The NYPD is not officially calling Stark’s sudden disappearance an abduction. But they reportedly did confirm that security camera footage shows Stark leaving his office at 2:30 a.m.
Stark is reportedly 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds.
Stark’s brother, Yoely Stark, reportedly says the security camera footage shows his brother briefly fighting with two men outside his office before being was bound with duct tape and driven away in a light colored Dodge van.
“We have to move very quickly. Shabbos is coming and time is very important. Remember Leiby Kletzky? They only got him through the security cameras and we need people to come forward now to help. The fastest way possible to get information is through the cameras which give the most accurate information,” he reportedly said.
If the kidnapping is real and not staged, it would be a mitzvah (an obligation under halakha, Jewish law) to violate Shabbat law to look for Menachem Stark and rescue him.
Yoely Stark asked volunteers to contact the Williamsburg Shomrim at 718-237-0202.
Menachem Stark personally owes lenders tens of millions of dollars and has several properties in foreclosure.
Stark is also known as a slumlord who abuses his tenants and is called a “crook” on consumer websites, including Yelp.
Update 11:48 am CST – The New York Post has a slightly different version of events:
A real estate developer was duck-taped and kidnapped in Williamsburg, cops said.
The victim identified by sources as Menachem Stark,38, was last seen leaving Southside Associated on Rutledge St. near Penn St. at 11:45 p.m Thursday when he was approached by an unidentified man, the sources said.
A struggled ensued and a white minivan pulled up and a second man stepped out.
The duo then duck-taped Stark and drove off, police said. The victim’s wife called Shomrim neighborhood watch when he didn’t come home around midnight. But after a two and a half hour investigation, they called the NYPD who took over the case.
Stark, who lives just up the block from his office on Rutledge St., hasn’t been seen since.
Note that it took Shomrim at least 2.5 hours to call police. A similar problem hindered the Leiby Kletzky investigation, as well.