A four-story building on Manhattan's Upper East Side collapsed into a pile of rubble Monday after a thunderous explosion that hurled fireballs skyward and left an upscale block littered with bricks, broken glass and splintered wood.

A man, identified by local media reports as Dr. Nicholas Bartha, is brought out of a collapsed building in New York July 10, 2006. Bartha, who lived alone in the building, was pulled from the center of the rubble and hospitalized with severe burns. [Reuters]

Authorities said the blast was caused by gas, and they were investigating whether it was the result of a suicide attempt by the building's owner, a doctor who was going through a bitter divorce. The doctor, Nicholas Bartha, 66, and a passer-by were severely hurt; at least 13 others had minor injuries.

Shortly before the blast, Bartha sent out a rambling e-mail to his wife in which he contemplated suicide, a police official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

"When you read this ... your life will change forever," the e-mail read in part. "You deserve it. You will be transformed from gold digger to ash and rubbish digger. You always wanted me to sell the house. I always told you I will leave the house only if I am dead."

The injured included five civilians and 10 firefighters. Bartha was pulled from the rubble after yelling up to rescuers while buried in the wreckage, fire officials said.

Bartha recently lost a US$4 million judgment in the divorce case, and court records chronicle a nasty dispute that spanned five years. The building was worth nearly $5 million based on a 2004 assessment, and was to be sold at auction to pay the judgment.

According to a 2005 appellate court opinion, the doctor had "intentionally traumatized" his Jewish wife, who was born in Nazi-occupied Holland, by posting "swastika-adorned articles and notes" around their home. The opinion also said Bartha had "ignored her need for support and assistance while she was undergoing surgery and treatment for breast cancer."

In a petition filed this year, Cordula Bartha asked that deputies remove Nicholas Bartha from the residence. "I have no doubt that (he) will ensconce himself in the marital residence and refuse to leave it after the auction is held. He has said many times that he intends to 'die in my house.'"

An attorney who represented Bartha in his divorce said his former client considered the house "his pride and joy."

"Faced with possibly losing it, he couldn't handle the pressure," Ira Garr said on Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren." Garr said he stopped representing Bartha after the doctor seemed to lose interest in pushing further with the appeal of his divorce judgment.

Page:

1

2