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Man who died in car fire was under investigation

Police say the man, who committed suicide by setting fire to his car, admitted taking $10,000 from an elderly neighbor couple.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published March 25, 2006

ZEPHYRHILLS - One mystery is solved. The other might never be.

Richard Clark, 61, was identified by Zephyrhills police Friday as the man who committed suicide in a Gall Boulevard shopping center parking lot March 8.

He set his car on fire, police said, and it burst into flames as he lay inside on the driver's seat.

Why did he do it?

That mystery police have no answer for, but they think this played a role:

Clark was under investigation for exploitation of the elderly at the time, accused of taking $10,000 from neighbors, a couple in their 80s.

"That's the only thing we can think of," said Capt. Randy Belasic.

Clark persuaded the couple, Harry and Teresa Miller, to let him be their "financial manager," police say. Between Dec. 9 and Feb. 20, they gave him more than $100,000. He returned all the checks, except for $10,000, which he deposited into his own account.

"Mr. Clark told a witness that the monies he kept were invested in his name and he would not transfer it back to the victims," a police report said.

The exploitation case was reported Feb. 20. A Zephyrhills detective left a message on Clark's answering machine. That day Clark returned $2,932 to the couple, police said.

Neighbors said his mood changed.

"They said he had been withdrawn for a couple of weeks," Belasic said. "Another neighbor said he just didn't seem like his normal self."

Three days later, Clark returned $1,500 to the couple. He spoke to a detective, police said, and Clark admitted taking the $10,000. He said he used part of it to repay his daughter, then lived off the rest.

Clark and the couple had a written agreement, so police didn't arrest him. Instead the case was presented to the State Attorney's Office on March 6.

Two days later, at 9:37 a.m. witnesses reported seeing flames shoot from a gray 1985 Chevy Caprice with a Maine license plate. A fuel can was found inside the passenger compartment, where firefighters reported seeing a small explosion before extinguishing the blaze.

A detective recognized Clark's car at the scene. But his identity wasn't confirmed with dental records until Thursday. The medical examiner ruled it a suicide; Clark was alive during the fire.

Was Clark going to be charged with a crime? Prosecutors could not be reached for comment Friday. If he had been, police think he could have avoided jail. He has no prior criminal record in Florida.

"He might have ended up with just restitution and probation," Belasic said. "It's definitely not worth taking your life for."

Neither the Millers nor Clark's relatives could not be reached for comment Friday.

Clark grew up in Belfast, Maine, and sold real estate with the family business. He renamed it Clark Real Estate after his father Arthur's death in 1982. He sold the business, retired to Florida, returned to Maine to care for his ailing mother, Charlotte, then came back to Florida after her death.

He had all kinds of hobbies, according to his March 23 obituary in the Bangor Daily News, including fishing, boating, photography and gardening. He raced dragsters for trophies, planted annuals and during the annual Fourth of July parade let his daughters throw candy to the crowd from his antique cars.

His obituary describes him as dedicated to more than just to his two daughters and family.

"He would often lend financial advice and money to friends that had fallen on hard times," read the Bangor Daily News obit. "He did this out of the kindness of his heart and never expected anything in return."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report.

[Last modified March 25, 2006, 01:51:17]