… a police source said. He also owed at least $15,000 in state taxes.
Authorities also said they discovered a note that Hawthorne left before he shot himself in the head Saturday afternoon. They did not disclose what he wrote.
In addition to Hawthorne’s tax issues, a former maintenance staffer was suing him in Manhattan Federal Court.
In a Facebook post last week, Hawthorne wrote about his legacy:
“I was always in search of the next honest means to make a dollar. Like many transplanted Caribbean nationals, I struggled to work and raise a family. I can only thank God for everything I have achieved, and if my story here can inspire others to rise up and give it a go, then I would have succeeded in doing something meaningful.”
Funeral arrangements are still being made. Hawthorne’s nephew Steven Clarke, who’s also a spokesperson for the company, tells the Times that the family is mourning, as well as assuring franchisees that they are prepared “to carry out our uncle’s mission.”