A Brooklyn do-gooder known as “the Santa Claus of the block” was found dead with several “puncture wounds” in his burning Brooklyn brownstone on Monday, authorities said.
Firefighters discovered a lifeless L. Antonio Litman, the founder of nonprofit Virginia’s House of Hope, in the lobby of the Adelphi Street building that housed the charity, as they responded to a fire there just before 3:30 a.m.
Litman, 55, was apparently dead before the fire started, a law enforcement source said. The cause of death is pending a medical examiner report.
Neighbors said Litman, who lived in New Jersey but owned the Brooklyn building where he was found, was “the Santa Claus of the block” who was known to shower local kids with hover boards and other pricey gifts.
“I will never forget the laughter, jokes and your smile,” his cousin, Lee Pringle, said in a Facebook post Monday.
“Cousin, you are gone too soon! See you on the other side. Lamont Antonio Litman! RIP.”
A woman outside the building who also identified herself as Litman’s cousin Monday said “he helped me take care of all my six kids. He funded my whole Christmas.”
The block, between DeKalb and Willoughby avenues, remained cordoned off on Monday night with detectives investigating into the evening.
The was ruled “suspicious,” but has not been classified as a homicide, cops said.
Litman grew up on a farm in South Carolina but later moved to the Big Apple and got involved in charity work with a friend’s mother, Virginia Maitland Sachs — eventually naming Virginia’s House of Hope after her, the group’s website says.
“Charitable work can be very difficult, and I realized that my efforts could have more impact if I reached out to others for help,” he wrote. “In order to do so, I took the proverbial leap of faith and founded a nonprofit charitable organization called ‘Virginia’s House of Hope.’ ”
The group has distributed food, clothing, school supplies and educational toys to more than 10,000 families since its founding in 2006, according to its website.
According to state tax filings, the group reported $128,735 in revenue for the year ending Dec. 31, 2018.
The same year, it spent $111,263 — including $22,657 on grants, $33,600 for “occupancy, rents, utilities and maintenance,” $6,798 for “professional fees,” and $48,208 classified under “other expenses,” according to filings, which show that Litman reported no income from the group.
The nonprofit lists Litman as its president. The only other principals are a treasurer and secretary named Ester Deddis, who Pringle identified as Litman’s cousin.
The fire was one of three blazes overnight in the five boroughs, including a Queens Village blaze where firefighters found a dead body.
Smoke-eaters also found the scorched body of a man inside a Queens Village building under renovation about 15 minutes before the Brooklyn fire. That man has not been identified.
The third fire was reported in Co-Op City in the Bronx.
