Suicide Closes Restaurant of Lois Frankel’s Son

Posted by Jose Lambiet , October 18, 2012 Print

The tapas and wine bar owned by former Mayor Lois Frankel‘s son was temporarily closed after a man killed himself in front of the downtown West Palm Beach establishment.

A manager at The Blind Monk, a popular hipster hangout at The Whitney condo building, 410 Evernia St., said two of restaurant’s employees were sitting outside after opening Tuesday afternoon when a body suddenly landed on a BMW parked on the street in front of them.

“Out of respect for our staffers who just watched this man die in their arms, and the family of the victim, we thought it best to close,” the employee said. “But we’re open now.”

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Owner Ben Lubin, son of U.S. Congress hopeful Lois Frankel and high-profile lawyer Richard Lubin, is out of town and couldn’t be reached.

Police, meanwhile, identified the victim as 59-year-old Hassan Rangwalla, a local resident and the former owner of the Ixora Motel in Lake Worth.

“The victim requested a tour of the building under the pretense he wanted to buy an apartment,” said West Palm Beach Police Spokesman Capt. David Bernhard. “He asked the realtor to see the rooftop pool (on the 9th floor) and when they arrived on the roof, he just ran and jumped over the edge.”

Bernhardt said Rangwalla left no suicide note and nothing indicated to the realtor that he was planning to kill himself.

The investigation is complete and the death was officially deemed a suicide.

Frankel is running for Congress against GOP candidate Adam Hasner.

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