Mortgage Company Exec Jumps to Death

MARLTON, N.J. (AP)
An executive of a collapsed subprime mortgagelender jumped to his death from a bridge Friday, shortly after hiswife's body was found inside their New Jersey home, authorities said.The deaths of Walter Buczynski, 59, and his wife, Marci, 37 ? theparents of two boys ? were being investigated as a murder-suicide,according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said Evesham Township police went to thecouple's home in the Marlton section of the township around noon after amale caller asked them to check on Marci Buczynski. Her body was foundin a bedroom.Authorities would not provide further details on her death, saying onlythat she was pronounced dead at the scene and that the county medical
examiner's office would perform an autopsy Saturday.About 20 minutes after her body was found, officers from the DelawareRiver and Bay Authority Police Department received reports that a man ?later identified as Walter Buczynski ? had parked his car on DelawareMemorial Bridge and jumped from the span.Crews were searching for his body Friday night.Bernardi said a motive for the apparent murder-suicide was notimmediately clear. The couple's children were being cared for by familymembers, Bernardi said.Walter Buczynski was a vice president of Columbia, Md.-based FieldstoneMortgage Co., a high-flying subprime mortgage lender that made $5.5billion in mortgage loans and employed about 1,000 people as late as 2006.However, it has since filed for bankruptcy and now has fewer than 20employees. The company had recently filed court papers seeking approvalto pay about $1.1 million in bonuses that would be divided amongBuczynski and other staffers so the company could wind down its lendingoperations and go out of business.