May 30, 2014. I was floored by the trashing of a mansion that was once worth $8 million dollars. Who could do such a thing? Every time I see something that makes no sense, I think that somehow, someone has figured out how to turn a disaster into a profit or more than likely into a large tax deduction. There must be a very interesting story to go from eight million dollars to trash ! All the furniture was gone, kitchen appliances were gone, almost all things made of glass were smashed and holes were kicked into the walls. From the photos, it would appear that the physical structure was in good shape, but would someone fix it up or tear it down and start over? Even though hidden from the main road, one could drive unobstructed for almost a city block to the front door of the mansion.
From this photo, it's clear that the vandals missed a spotlessly clean bathroom with a completely untouched glass shower? It's also clear that the vandals had no flashlight, because the door to this bathroom was totally in a dark area off one of the large rooms.
In February 2017 the mansion was burned to the ground. News video showed that the stone outside walls were just a pile of rubble. On May 6th, 2017 I decided to drive to Colts Neck and take my own photos. When I got to 104 Cedar Drive, I started to laugh:
When the mansion had a value of 8 million dollars, one could drive down the long driveway of pavers and park near the front door. There were no physical barriers, no keep out signs, not one no trespassing sign and even the front door was wide open! Now that it's just a pile of rubble, with no building value, you can't even get within a block of the place. Had the current barrier at the driveway been in place years ago, when the owner David Findel went to prison for fraudulent loan schemes and bankruptcy fraud, the mansion would not have been visible from Cedar Drive and nobody could have driven or walked to the mansion, nor could they have vandalized it or burnt it to the ground.
If you go to YouTube and type: "fire at 104 Cedar Drive, Colts Neck, NJ" you will see video of the fire. If there ever was a suspicious fire, this was it.
2022.
Re-visiting the webpage and other associated videos on the internet, one wonders if at around the time the owner David Findel went to prison, the plan at that time was to encourge vandals to trash the place and then years later, hire a professional to burn the place down. Like all conspiracy theories, there is no proof, but one wonders why over the many years there was no published articles of who investigated, what did they find, how did the fire start with no electricity and no natural gas. What part, if any, did former owner and ex-con David Findel have in the whole scenario? Who held the mortgage? Who was the insurance company? Who was the bank? Who paid the property taxes? What was reported to the Internal Revenue Servce? Who lost money? Who gained money? Usually when high powered people are involved in suspicious dealings, the public will never find out the real story. Newspapers don't do news anymore, "investigative reporters" don't investigate anymore, it would also appear from a lack of information, that (conspiracy theories again): (politics in Colts Neck, with an agreeable exchange of campaign money), the public will never find answers to these questions.
Since the mansion was not visible from Cedar Drive, one wonders if any of the neighbors had been involved in Findel's fraudulent loan schemes and perhaps passed the word that the mansion was abandoned to invite vandals ? Vandalism is one level of crime but setting fire to a mansion with no electricity or gas is a crime at a much higher level ?
2023-1005. I periodically review my webpages and noticed that I made refererence to a video on You Tube. Since many videos are taken down, I wanted to see if the 6 year old fire video was still on the internet.
Amazing, but the video is still posted:
Criminal's Abandoned $8 Million Mansion Burns Down 🔥🚒 - YouTube
2024-0404. It's been 7 years since the mansion fire and with all the media outlets available, the public still doesn't know how the fire started with no electricity and no natural gas. The public still doesn't know what part, if any, the former owner and ex-con David Findel played in the whole scenario? The public still doesn't know who held the mortgage? The public still doesn't know who was the insurance company? The public still doesn't know who was the bank? The public still doesn't know who paid the property taxes? The public still doesn't know what was reported to the Internal Revenue Servce? The public still doesn't know who lost money? The public still doesn't know who gained money?
People who live in Monmouth County NJ get inundated daily with trivial and useless information, but when our interest peaks about a local situation, nothing is heard. It suggests that politics in Colts Neck, NJ is somehow involved in the news blackout.