Aiexpress – A judge has ruled that a security executive, who angered his New Jersey neighborhood last year by illegally cutting down his neighbor’s trees, must pay $13,000 in fines.
Grant Haber is still grappling with the underlying issue at hand. Local prosecutors have estimated that the damages he will have to cover for the replacement and maintenance of the fallen trees could surpass $1 million.
Haber reached a plea deal in which he was fined for only 18 out of the 32 trees that he had a contractor cut down in March of last year in Kinnelon, New Jersey.
If he didn’t reach an agreement, he would have to pay a hefty fine of $32,000 along with being charged for trespassing.
According to The Daily Record, Haber cleared the forest to improve his view of the New York City skyline from his five-bedroom, six-bath, 5,000-square-foot colonial estate. He declined to comment during the court.
Haber acted like a tree and fled town following the uproar.
According to property records, he sold his Kinnelon home last November for $1.8 million, which was $500,000 more than he paid in 2014.
The neighbor whose property was demolished told The Record that he’s “never going to be 100% satisfied,” despite the fact that it’s been a year since he got home to a chorus of chainsaws ripping through his seven-acre property.
“I always use the analogy that if you hire someone to put a hit out on somebody, they are just as liable as the person who did it,” Samih Shinway said after the court.
The story of the trees went viral last June after a friend of Kinnelon’s borough arborist wrote a thread on X detailing the incident.
“He hired a guy who hired another guy. Cut them down and left the debris there,” he continued. “I hope whoever this ass is he can’t pay and they lien and sell his property, the value of which he probably figured would be increased so much a $32k fine was worth it, to cover the cost.”
Since its publication, the thread has gone viral, amassing over 4.2 million views.
A hearing has been scheduled for April 19 in Morris County to determine the amount of restitution Haber is required to pay.
Haber, the CEO of an antiterrorism company, assured the court that he would settle the fine within the next 30 days.
