Mario Williams Buys $2 Million Buffalo House With Two-Story Library!

[david_rocket]

So it seems the previous owner of this house, is in jail for larceny and identity theft, and used some of the money he stole to build this house.

Now the victims will get $500,000 from Williams' purchase, with the rest of the money going toward the mortgage and other fees.




http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bills-w...VPURIAwhBNbK5_

Bills Williams' new home windfall for scam victims By JOHN WAWROW | The Associated Press ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams has a new home, and at least 53 new fans. By closing on a $2 million deal to purchase a mansion in suburban Buffalo, the Bills' high-priced free-agent addition is also helping a group of creditors recoup a portion of the $3.1 million they were cheated out of by the home's former owner. ''It was a windfall,'' said William F. Savino. He's a Buffalo-based attorney representing 53 people who had their money taken by former personal injury lawyer Kenneth Bernas, who was convicted in 2010 of larceny and identity theft. Bernas, who has been disbarred and is serving a 2 1/3- to seven-year jail sentence, used some of the money he stole to build the five-bedroom, 9,000-plus square-foot, four-car garage home in 2005. He's been ordered to repay $1.8 million. Savino said his clients will get close to $500,000 from Williams' purchase, with the rest of the money going toward the mortgage and other fees. The Buffalo News first reported Williams' purchase earlier this week. Williams targeted buying the mansion shortly after signing a six-year contract potentially worth $100 million with the Bills in free agency in March. He's one of the NFL's premier pass-rushing specialists, and spent his first six seasons with the Houston Texans, who selected Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft. It's unclear whether Williams was familiar with home's former owner's legal troubles, but he was aware that he was purchasing the home out of receivership. Williams wasn't available for comment on his new home, but had said earlier this week that he was in the process of completing a purchase and planning to move in before the start of training camp, which opens at the end of next month. State judge John Michalek was credited by Savino for speeding up the process to meet a deadline set by Williams. The home, set on a five-acre lot, is not far from the Bills facility and cost nearly $4 million to build. Williams was so interested in buying the property that he exceeded the $1.99 million asking price to beat out several other offers. Williams is an avid outdoorsman and also owns homes in Houston and his native North Carolina. ''I didn't know that anything like this would happen until I got a call that Mario had an interest in the mansion,'' Savino said. ''It's good news for the victims. They didn't deserve this from someone they trusted.'' The proceeds from the sale means the victims will have been repaid nearly $1 million, Savino said. And that doesn't include the $1 million the victims received from the New York State Lawyers Fund for Client Protection.

[solid]

That is a lot of house for 2 mill. Couldn't come close to that much house in Houston for that kind of money. Buffalo must be a great real estate market.

[EddieWasSnubbed]

Originally Posted by solid That is a lot of house for 2 mill. Couldn't come close to that much house in Houston for that kind of money. Buffalo must be a great real estate market.

Less desirable city, and I'm fairly sure the taxes are a lot higher. That probably makes the market less competitive.

[Deckard]

I'm jealous of the library. I have hundreds of books, and they're in bookcases all over the house.

[OremLK]

That library is gorgeous. I just keep all my books on my Kindle though, now. Much as I love the smell and feel of a real paper book I just can't get over the amount of square footage wasted storing them, compared to a device the size of half of one book...

[josephnicks]

Originally Posted by Butterfingers This was his house in Houston if you want to Google map it. https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q...ed=0CAoQ8gEwAA

tht house looks nice, but a bit out of place, considering the look of the house across the street on the googlemap you posted.. marios old home looks like something you would find in miami..

[Fyreball]

Originally Posted by OremLK That library is gorgeous. I just keep all my books on my Kindle though, now. Much as I love the smell and feel of a real paper book I just can't get over the amount of square footage wasted storing them, compared to a device the size of half of one book...

Eh, I feel you, but in this case, I think it's more for the prestige than the actual books. But still, I love hardbacks. Nothing beats a real book IMO.

[clos4life]

Looove the library. Me and my wife have lots of books around the house, that library would be ideal for us.

[SamFisher]

I was going to say I'm surprised that there are $2mm houses in Buffalo, but after seeing the library it makes a lot more sense.

[DonkeyMagic]

Didn't know there were that many pop-up books.

[JayZ750]

Originally Posted by josephnicks tht house looks nice, but a bit out of place, considering the look of the house across the street on the googlemap you posted.. marios old home looks like something you would find in miami..

Many of the houses along Memorial were rebuilt in that style. It wasn't particularly out of place. Memorial became a mix of new, mostly mediterranean mcmansionesque homes, and older expensive properties.

[Rip Van Rocket]

I have a kindle with a bunch of books on it. I really wouldn't need the library.

[Mr. Clutch]

Cool stories, bro.

[Naija Texan]

Originally Posted by Butterfingers Honestly he downsized considerably.... His home in Houston was located deep in the heart of Memorial and was appraised at 4.8 million dollars and had 14,000 living square feet and 68,000 square feet of land.

Hey its Buffalo, the houses are going to be cheap because no one is trying to move there and they don't have nearly as much space as you'd get from a Texas mansion.

Good for Mario, I hope he and his gal enjoy the library because there ain't nothing else to do in Buffalo besides going outside the city (sometimes to Canda even) or watching TV.

[Bobblehead]

I'd rather have choose to have mustard on a turd than without it.........but it's still a Turd (Buffalo).

[magnetik]

Originally Posted by Naija Texan Hey its Buffalo, the houses are going to be cheap because no one is trying to move there and they don't have nearly as much space as you'd get from a Texas mansion. Good for Mario, I hope he and his gal enjoy the library because there ain't nothing else to do in Buffalo besides going outside the city (sometimes to Canda even) or watching TV.

Yeah I don't see him being able to race his Lambo on any airport runways up there either. At least he'll have a lot of books to read.