Thank you for using rssforward.com! This service has been made possible by all our customers. In order to provide a sustainable, best of the breed RSS to Email experience, we've chosen to keep this as a paid subscription service. If you are satisfied with your free trial, please sign-up today. Subscriptions without a plan would soon be removed. Thank you!

The body of the developer, identified as Menachem Stark, 39, was discovered on Friday afternoon by workers at a Getty gas station in Great Neck, about 20 miles away from where he was kidnapped, the Nassau County Police Department said in a statement on Saturday.

When Mr. Stark left his office at 331 Rutledge Street in Williamsburg at about 11:35 p.m. on Thursday, two men were waiting for him in the darkness, the New York Police Department said Saturday. A struggle ensued for several minutes as the men tried to force Mr. Stark into a 2006 or 2007 Dodge Caravan, the police said.

The Police Department released a blurry surveillance video on Saturday, which it said showed Mr. Stark wrestling in the driving snow with the two men who eventually overcame him and put him in the van. The light-colored vehicle then drove off.

The authorities did not release information about a motive for the crime, or any word about arrests. A police spokesman said Mr. Stark was known to carry large amounts of cash with him.

On Mr. Stark's street in Williamsburg, neighbors said they were shocked that a man who was known for his generosity could meet such an end. They said Mr. Stark and his wife regularly held parties at their home to raise money for charity.

The Starks have seven children, five girls and two boys, neighbors said. The oldest, a daughter, is 16.

Court records show that Mr. Stark and his business partner, Israel Perlmutter, were sued several times after defaulting on major loans. In 2009, they declared bankruptcy after defaulting on a $29 million loan for a Brooklyn property consisting of 74 rental units and two joining lots.

Fernando Cerff, who owns the Getty gas station where Mr. Stark's body was found and is a snowplow operator, said he arrived to work at 7 on Friday morning and noticed smoke coming from the open trash bin. Thinking a colleague had thrown a lit cigarette away, Mr. Cerff said, he threw some snow into the bin without looking and left in his truck to plow.

When he returned at 3 p.m., he noticed the smell.

"I went to throw out the garbage and it smells terrible. I was sick," he said. "The police came and found a body."

Mr. Stark's funeral was held just before 9 p.m. on Saturday. At least a thousand people gathered at the corner of Marcy Avenue and Hooper Street, outside a tiny synagogue.

In the crowd, Joseph Kohn, 53, said Mr. Stark had played a key role in the community.

"He was the livelihood of the synagogue," he said.