The owner of the Orrieka Castle, Gary Menus, said that he had deposited a bankruptcy of chapter 11 to maintain a sales of foreclosure of the historic property.
He said that the castle has been in foreclosure for 10 years but that it had to be on sale this week, so he filed for a bankruptcy to save him.
“I had a foreclosure; I was going to lose the place on August 7. I have been in foreclosure for 10 years, but the judge gave them permission to sell it, so that I could not keep them at a distance,” he said, referring to banks and lenders. An auction was scheduled for Thursday.
According to court documents, the complaint was filed with the American bankruptcy court for the Oriental District of New York last Thursday.
What Newsday has found
- Gary Melius, the owner of the Château d’Orieka, said that he had filed a bankruptcy of Chapter 11 to maintain a sale of foreclosure of historic property.
- An auction of historic property had been scheduled for Thursday.
- Melius said Oheka Castle Hotel and Estate will continue to work.
The property, listed in the file as the owner of the Kahn property, owes $ 63.5 million to the creditors. The file indicates that the property has zero species with $ 57.27 in a current account. Ownership has $ 92.8 million in assets, which includes property, machines, equipment and vehicles.
Oheka Castle, located on West Gate Drive in Huntington, is a popular wedding place, a restaurant and a hotel. The castle of 109,000 square feet of French style remains the second largest private residence ever built in the United States, according to the castle website.
In 1941, the castle appeared under the name of Xanadu in “Citizen Kane”, and more recently, Taylor Swift filmed his clip for the song “Blank Space”.
Melius said the Orieka Castle Hotel and Estate would continue to work.
“Weddings are still underway,” he said. “No one should care about it.”
Gary Melius at the castle in 2014. Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
Melius, a political power player in Long Island, I bought the property in 1984 and lived there.
Joseph S. Maniscalco, the lawyer based in Wantagh the representative in the bankruptcy procedure, said in an email that Melius “will continue to own and exploit his emblematic place while simultaneously finalizing a multi -year plan to develop luxury condominiums on property.”
The castle is under receivers to manage its finances, Mélus said in Newsday. A reception session is a party committed by the court responsible for the management of commercial operations.
A company is looking for a protection for chapter 11 to enable it to reorganize its finances without the threat of prosecution against creditors.
In March 2023, the municipal council gave the green light for Kahn Property Owner LLC to build the residences in Oheka II, a four -story building with 95 housing units on the west side of East Gate Drive.
A month later, the Cold Spring Country Club – which is next to the castle – and its development partner, Cold Spring Development Partners LLC, filed a complaint against the city, Kahn Property Owner LLC, Jeffrey Kolesar and David Rosenberg, alleging that the municipal council “abused his authority” when he granted Melius an additional permit.
The prosecution was rejected in October 2023. Country club representatives could not be immediately joined.
The status of residences in Oheka II of any request before the city was immediately available, said city officials.
In a text in Newsday, the city supervisor, Ed Smyth, said that he had applauded Melius “for his efforts for several decades to restore and maintain the castle of Oheka”, adding that his “extraordinary” efforts should not be overlooked.
“The City will monitor the legal file to ensure that the interests of the public are protected, in particular that the castle and the surrounding goods are maintained,” said Smyth in the text.
An aerial view of 2010 shows the Château d’Orieka. Credit: Kevin P. coughlin / Kevin P coughlin
On February 24, 2014, Melius was shot in the head outside the castle – a crime that is not resolved.
In a surveillance video published by the police, Mélius was seen enter his Mercedes when a masked shooter approached and fired three shots.
Melius was touched once. The shooter was seen fleeing in a Large Cherket Jeep, said the suffolk police.
He spent months recovering, and a who’s who of Long Island Politics visited him at the hospital, including County of Nassau and Suffolk leaders.
In a video published by Melius after filming, he said: “I want you to know that I am healing, I am improving and I can’t wait to start again.”
Melius announced a $ 100,000 award for information that would help resolve the shooting and called on the FBI to help Suffolk police inquiry.
Although the FBI has joined the investigation, no arrest was made.
Nicole Fuller from Newsday and James T. Madore contributed to this story.
