Gary Melius is earning lots of money from the Oheka Castle. Gary Melius is using this mansion as a historic hotel which includes 32 guest rooms and suits. Melius bought the Oheka Castle in 1984 for $1.5 million after it had fallen into disrepair. Police are still looking for the shooter. A $300-a-seat Debbie Gibson concert at Oheka Castle was advertised in Newsday on June 20, 1994. Beginning in the early 1990s, Melius defied the zoning and began promoting the castle for weddings and catered events. Several years earlier, Melius had named Schaffer, a close friend, the castle’s curator. Gary Melius Reflects on Oheka Castle Shooting - YouTube The reward for tips leading to the arrest of the assailant who shot and wounded Oheka Castle … “I have a very strong feeling that he is just getting warmed up,” she said. Moreover, this mansion became a famous weeding venue for dignitaries, socialites and others. “That was Gary’s basic mode of operation,” he said. Melius … A nonprofit, Friends of Oheka, was created to support and accept donations for the restoration. The castle’s exterior could not be altered and only one small “Oheka” sign was permitted. But at the tumultuous hearing, she cautioned that the zoning change was likely the first step toward something further. “The truth was that he performed miracles there and saved us from the horrors of an empty building that was attracting teenagers,” Schaffer said in an interview. Contact Newsday | Oheka is featured in episode 5. Gary Melius. Besides, you need to pay $200 to $500 more per person. During a six-month stretch in 1996, 39 weddings and a Sweet 16 party were scheduled, according to documents filed with the court. Please enable notifications or using normal browsing mode. Christopher Okada still remembers the mysterious call his father, Naomi, a New York City real estate broker, received from Japan. Lawrence Cregan, who was then town attorney, said he felt compelled to take action against Oheka. Steve Israel, a former Huntington councilman and then a U.S. representative, with wife Marlene Budd on Election Day in 2004. Cookie Settings | Celebrity weddings hit the entertainment pages regularly. This mansion is around 109,000 square feet and this mansion has almost 127 rooms. Melius was leasing the castle, but its ownership was murky and being contested. In 2004, it permitted Melius to add signs and approved operation of a 50-room hotel and a health spa, which has yet to be built. Melius portrayed things similarly. Melius would soon sell Oheka for a recorded price that was 15 times higher than what he bought it for — and get to live there as caretaker to boot. Among the opponents was Dunn, the target of Melius’ $10 million suit. Considered broadly, between 1985 and 2000, Melius, his family, his companies and employees contributed at least $180,515 to federal, state and local political campaigns, according to campaign finance records. Subscription terms | His neighbors, he said, told the board, “Give him what he wants. In 1984, he bought a decaying 1919 French-style chateau on Long Island's Gold Coast. A Gannett Suburban Newspapers survey of corporate contributors that exceeded legal limits found that in 1995, the state’s worst offender was Melius’ Oheka Management Corp., which had exceeded the limits by $21,265. Photo credit: Newsday / David L. Pokress. Melius also hosted parties at Oheka for Petrone, who was the Huntington supervisor for 24 years. He had bought the abandoned mansion in 1984 for about $1.5 million, assuming ownership of … In the end, the board voted unanimously to approve the new zoning category that allowed commercial use of Oheka, a little more than a year after the zoning board had rejected Melius’ last attempt. Location Map Take a day to explore the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, … He settled the case by agreeing to do so. Virtually every important restriction enacted in 1997 was eliminated or eased over the next few years. Between 1994 and 1996, inspectors repeatedly found Melius violating zoning restrictions and codes. Petrone said that while he couldn’t remember specifics, the changes had community support. Melius also held in-kind fundraisers at Oheka — in which services are donated — for Israel and Budd. Catereres. Budd later became a Family Court judge. A day after a 1994 “gala evening of tribute” for Frank Grimes, then the Huntington Democratic Party leader, a fire inspector warned Melius in writing to stop using Oheka as “a place of public assembly” until he obtained the required license. Furthermore, its previous tenant, the Eastern Military Academy, had greatly altered the interior spaces from their original layout. For owners hoping to win a zoning change, such a record of noncompliance would prove daunting. Long Island developer Gary Melius bought it in 1984 and turned it into a luxury hotel and wedding/event space. HOTELS. Many celebrities such as, Megyn Kelly, Curtis Martin, Joey Fatone, has been married in this mansion. Gary Melius at Oheka Castle in October 1995. VIDEO: Our team explores how Melius’ network operated. Bit by bit, Oheka was restored to its former glory. In constructing Oheka, Kahn determined to build a fireproof building, so he had his architects, Delano and Aldrich, design the building out of steel and concrete, making it one of the first totally fireproof residential buildings. A local real estate developer named Gary Melius eventually purchased OHEKA CASTLE several decades after the passing of Otto Hermann Kahn. He turned his attention to trying to transform the castle into a destination, a place for weddings, parties and other events. Campaign donations by Melius, family and his companies. Petrone changed parties to become a Democrat in 2002. Melius turned the … Photo credit: Newsday / John Keating, Gary Melius at Oheka Castle in October 1995. After falling into disrepair, OHEKA was purchased by developer Gary Melius in 1984. Israel did not respond to requests for an interview and it’s unknown if the wedding was discounted, a favor Melius frequently offered to friends and political allies. This is the 2 nd biggest private mansion in the USA. When Otto died, the estate passed hands several times, serving as retreat for sanitation workers and a training facility for Merchant Marines. What emerged was something new for Melius and far more sophisticated. Oheka Castle was bought up in 1984 by developer Gary Melius who purchased the destroyed property and its remaining 23-acre plot for $1.5 million. But in Huntington, Melius was playing on his home field and determined to find a way to operate Oheka commercially. (Photo by Paul Prince) HUMBLE BEGINNINGS. Schaffer was the civic association’s past president and an adviser to its board. Melius became Huntington Councilman Mark Cuthbertson’s biggest donor, giving him at least $31,300, based on campaign records. And he went to work, pouring money into a meticulous restoration he hoped would not only prove worthwhile on its own, but also would open the way for the lucrative development of 39 luxury condos. 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