Few Strong Leads in Menachem Stark Murder Probe

By Forward Staff January 8, 2014

Police admit they have no suspects and few strong leads in the investigation into the shocking kidnap and murder of Brooklyn real estate developer Menachem Stark.

Police Commissioner William Bratton said police are hoping than information about the van used to snatch Stark from his office in Williamsburg last Thursday night may jumpstart the tangled probe.

“We’re seeing if we can get a shot of the license plate that allows us start building our case from there,” Bratton told reporters during a briefing in Manhattan, Newsday reported.

So far, there are “no significant leads,” he said.

Investigators have confirmed that Stark had a tangled financial history, including debts to several creditors. But it’s not clear why any of them would have wanted to murder him.

Some reports have cast suspicion on his longtime business partner Israel (Sam) Perlmuttter, but he strongly denied those claims through his lawyer.

Stark, 38, a father of seven, was leaving his real-estate office in the Williamsburg section when he was bundled into a van Thursday night around 11:30 pm. His charred body was found the next day in a Long Island dumpster.

Sources said the cause of death was “compression asphyxiation” leading some investigators to speculate that attackers killed Stark while sitting on him or trying to subdue him in the van.

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