Neighbors said they hadn't seen Ricardo for a while. They said they had tried to keep an eye on Ricardo, who had diabetes and had become blind in his 50s, but since his house was up a long driveway and could not be seen from the street, they did not always know what he was doing.
A couple who lived near Ricardo's house, Helen and Pat Boyle, said they never noticed mail piling up by the mailbox, which is visible from the street. A rope was attached by the front door and led to the mailbox so he could retrieve his mail.
"The word going around was that he was in a home," Pat Boyle said.
The couple said Ricardo built the two-story house -- where a waterfall of ice ran down over one of the garage doors from the burst pipe -- after he emigrated from Italy and worked in construction.
Still leaves a lot of questions.
Forgot to post the link.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-libody0217,0,141600.story