Modal Trigger Golden Krust CEO killed himself over tax debt, fears of probe
The founder of the Golden Krust Jamaican beef patty empire killed himself amid fears the feds were investigating him for evading millions of dollars in taxes, The Post has learned.
A family member told detectives that Lowell Hawthorne, 57, admitted the huge tax debt to some of his relatives, and was “acting funny” and “talking to himself” in the hours before his suicide, a law-enforcement source said Sunday.
Surveillance video shows the meat-pie mogul shooting himself in the head at his office inside the Golden Krust bakery and warehouse in The Bronx, said the source, who was briefed on the NYPD investigation into the shooting.
Before the shooting, the video shows Hawthorne speaking with a pair of workers who left the room, both of whom were crouched down when they later returned to his office, sources said.
It was unclear if they saw Hawthorne kill himself but one of them could be seen making a cell phone call, which a source said was to 911.
Hawthorne employed dozens of relatives at the business he started in 1989, and the source said he left a note in which he apologized to his family.
Hawthorne’s younger brother, Milton Hawthorne, 55, met cops who arrived at the Golden Krust plant at 3958 Park Ave. around 5:15 p.m. Saturday in response to a 911 call about an emotionally disturbed person armed with a gun, sources said.
Lowell, a married father of three sons and a daughter, was found on the floor of his office with a single bullet wound to his head and a handgun lying nearby, sources said.
The Jamaican immigrant started Golden Krust with a single fast-food eatery on East Gun Hill Road in The Bronx and opened 16 more across the city before launching a franchise operation in 1996.
The company now has more than 120 outlets in nine states, and sells its beef patties in more than 20,000 supermarkets, as well as to the city school system, state penal system and US military, according to a news release issued last year.
In August, Hawthorne was slapped with a proposed class-action suit alleging he cheated as many as 100-plus workers at the Golden Crust plant out of overtime pay.
The suit — fairly common in the food-service industry — remains pending in Manhattan federal court.
Al Alston, who befriended Hawthorne 30 years ago when they were both NYPD accountants and now owns a Golden Krust franchise in Queens, called his suicide “more than unexpected — it’s out of character.”
“He was always an upbeat guy,” Alston said.
“We’ve been in a lot of tough jams and situations, but he was always a person who’d say ‘We’ll get out of it.’ And we would get out of it.”
Alston said he last spoke to Hawthorne two weeks ago, adding: “He was so happy about [the recent birth of] his granddaughter.”
“All his boys are married now. He was talking about taking on a different role as a father, making his boys into husbands and fathers themselves,” Alston said.
Mourners gathered at Hawthorne’s home in Elmsford, with son Omar, Golden Krust’s director of franchise and community development, saying via email: “We are still grieving, and are not conducting any interviews at this time.”
During a brief news conference at the Golden Krust bakery, company spokesman and Hawthorne nephew Steven Clarke said widow Lorna Hawthorne was making funeral arrangements and it was unclear if there would be a public memorial service.
“Right now we’re still processing and trying to wrap our mind around this tragic loss,” he added.
Gm my fellow bloggers,
I deliberately didn’t say anything, I sat on it n then made some checks and NOW I’m royally pissed off at the Jamaica Gleaner. The truth is that for some time now The Gleaner has been in a downward spiral based on the poor quality of their reports and investigative journalism.All the other media reports,even the official Police report kept saying it was a SINGLE shot to the head.However in a desperate bid Fi look good the Gleaner put out that it WAS 2shots fuelling a firestorm of unwarranted speculation!!
Gleaner is like what 200yrs old but dung to the Jamaica observer that come out wha day ya More credible.Met is Observer the thinking ppl read cuz Gleaner nuh romp Fi run with hearsey from suspect witnesses.Now them gone n embarrassed the Yardies.. I am so ashamed n disappointed that a Jamaican standard bearer has put us in such a bundling bad light!
Go SYM Gleaner editor especially,yall a disgrace cuz unno mek conspiracy theorists a diss up our country when the man killed himself!!SYM again and again :batabig :batabig
I stopped reading the Gleaner ages ago when I started seeing more rubbish coming out of the Star and realized that Gleaner was actually the creator of the Star.
Lowell, a married father of three sons and a daughter, was found on the floor of his office with a single bullet wound to his head and a handgun lying nearby, sources said.
Now you guys can stop withe nonsense about being shot in the head twice.
Even though his company owed millions in taxes and he apparently attempted to evade taxes, how does killing himself solve the problem? The taxes are stilled owed and the class-action lawsuit is still very much alive in Federal Court:
1:17-cv-05878-PAE Wray v. Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery Inc. et al
Paul A. Engelmayer, presiding
Date filed: 08/03/2017
Date of last filing: 11/07/2017
Case Summary
Office: Foley Square Filed: 08/03/2017
Jury Demand: Plaintiff Demand:
Nature of Suit: 710 Cause: 29:203 FLSA: Definitions
Jurisdiction: Federal Question Disposition:
Fee Date: 08/03/2017 Fee Status: pd
Arbitration Code: Class Action: y
Citizenship Plaintiff: Citizenship Defendant:
Date Transferred:
County: Nassau Terminated:
Origin: 1 Reopened:
Lead Case: None
Related Case: None Other Court Case: None
Defendant Custody Status:
Flag: ECF
Plaintiff: Robert Wray represented by Brett R. Cohen
Phone: (516)-873-9550
Fax: (516)-747-5024
Email: [email protected]
Plaintiff: Robert Wray represented by Michael Alexander Tompkins
Phone: (516)-873-9550
Fax: (516)-747-5024
Email: [email protected]
Defendant: Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery Inc. represented by Brooke Dana Youngwirth
Phone: (845)-240-7322
Email: [email protected]
Defendant: Lowell Hawthorne represented by Brooke Dana Youngwirth
Phone: (845)-240-7322
Email: [email protected]
Defendant: Milton Hawthorne represented by Brooke Dana Youngwirth
Phone: (845)-240-7322
Email: [email protected]
But whyyyyy? Him couldn’t tek him time pay pay it off? is shame mek him tek him ife cuz of his squeaky clean image? I’m sure he cut cut a deal with the IRS to settle.
But then again why tax evasion when he’s so in the public eye worse him dont born in di USA?
Now, the dirty details will be pouring out. It won’t be a merry Christmas for this family whatsoever. With time they will get through it though. Them fi be on the watch cause a now whole heap a vultures going to fly dung fi teck dem ova. So successful black businesses always go, some happenstance den white smaddy come teck it over and call it dem own.
If you owe taxes just pay it up cause you cannot outrun di tax man. Yes, when you go into a certain bracket a 50% tax you haffi pay, but dats what living in a developed country is about.
There is more to this suicide than just tax debt and the avoidance of paying overtime to his employees. The deeper the investigation goes, the more will be revealed and I think he knows this. So he did pay the correct amount of income taxes, so the money should be there to pay the required taxes, plus penalties, which can be negotiated….why kill yourself? Where is the money?
Wouldn’t be surprise if there is a money laundering angle to this whole ordeal.
MNL….Jamaicans are though as nails. We do not end our lives over debt. We are a resilient bunch. This man has faced a rugged terrain before and he didn’t take his life. I will wait.
Rubbish… Anyone who believe this has been conned….
Bout tax evasion…
This is so unfortunate. @Yardielovethug, mi burn di Gleaner none stop; they are CIA flunkies–as they were used by the CIA to slander Michael Manley…
Mr Hawthorne seemed like such a decent man. I pray his was not another Cash Plus or pyramid scheme smh.
Well a shoulda di Cash Minus Man do dis to himself God forgive me but him is a damn teeeeeeef
I was told a very deep story from a close affiliate of the family.. First this man MADE HIMSELF OUT TO BE WHAT HE IS NOT. Hes a narcissistic brute. What he said he owned and what he owned in REAL LIFE IS A FAR CONTRAST FROM THE TRUTH. He knew it was coming and he couldn’t FACE the shame. He lived in Hawthorne in a ordinary neighborhood. If he own that much as HE SELF-PROCLAIMED HE WOULD BE LIVING IN SCARSDALE OR BEDFORD HILLS because hes BOASSY LIKE DAT. He was told to make changes to the brand to fit criteria and adapt according to FDA requirements and he didnt. He went the cheap route, refusing to use more healthy ingredients. He didn’t pay many of his fellow countrymen that worked for him and he HAD MULTIPLE LAWSUITS AND TAX LIENS. He had some book out Called ‘THE BAKER’S SON”(My life in Business) which only highlighted his narcissism. HE BARELY SOLD A COPY..HES A SELF-ABSORBED PERSON. HE COULDN’T TAKE THE SHAME.
I can believe that.
I can see from public records that he had 2 IRS TaX Liens go back a number of years. I cannot see the total owed, but I no see an satisfaction of those Liens. No know about any corporate Tax Liens against the Company.
The Class Action lawsuit by his employees look like what really push him over the edge. Such lawsuit would require him to turn over all corporate records, which is something he might not want to do.
I don’t think a lot of the franchise locations were doing that great also. They tend to nickel-and-dime you to death when you order your food and so I avoid their stores.