MARBLEHEAD — After 16 years, the end came for Wayne Johnson's house on Bubier Road this week, but it all seemed so quick to him that he said he was at a loss to find a new home.
He's now moved elsewhere in Marblehead but still believes he was in the right.
"A miscarriage of justice is never pretty," Johnson said yesterday.
As for the neighbors who sought the home's destruction, John and Ruth Schey, he added. "They did what they thought was right, and that's who they are."
For their part, the Scheys continued their policy of not speaking with the press, a policy they have held to for 16 years. But their lawyer, Frank McElroy, spoke for them, noting that he was on the scene when the house came down.
"And there was a sudden beam of February sunlight on their house for the first time in 10 or 15 years," he said. ".... They were there, and they were happy to see that."
Demolition of the house, flattened by an excavator on Tuesday morning, came after the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs, the total loss well over half a million dollars for Johnson.
Johnson wasn't there at the end.
"People started coming in to buy parts," he said in a calm, quiet voice. "I was supportive of that." He hoped these items would benefit somebody. "But boy, when I saw it happening — people started ripping things out — I had to leave. I didn't want to see that. I didn't want any part of that."
A spiral staircase said to cost more than $40,000 could not be saved and was destroyed with the house, save for the banister and spindles.
Johnson, 74, a vice president for investments at Moors & Cabot, Inc. in Boston, had originally conceived of the house as an investment property, which he planned to sell, though he later ended up living there. He is reluctant to discuss his financial situation in the wake of the loss.
"I feel very bad about it. It's been a huge financial loss. Very difficult. It's going to affect my lifestyle. It's going to be financially stressful. ... I would like to be at a point where I could retire," he said.
He hasn't completely surrendered the idea of building on the lot, which sits some yards from Marblehead Harbor.
"I don't know if that's possible. I'd have to go to the Board of Appeals to get a permit," he said.
McElroy, however, noted that the Scheys voiced their objections to the house before the first shovelful of earth was turned. Among the Scheys' complaints were that Johnson's house blocked the sunlight and their view of the harbor and lacked sufficient frontage.
McElroy predicts that if Johnson tries to build now, the Scheys will fight him and win.
"It wouldn't be the first zoning case I'd ever had to do twice," McElroy said.
McElroy faults Johnson for ignoring the protests of his clients. Although the town had originally given Johnson a building permit, and it survived a trip to the board of appeals, McElroy noted that appeals board members voted 2-3 against Johnson (a 4-1 vote was needed to defeat him).
That was one among several "clear warnings," that Johnson was on shaky ground should he decide to build while the process worked its way through the courts, McElroy said. On another occasion, a judge told Johnson that he risked having his house torn down, McElroy added.
Johnson denies ever hearing that message. He points to other mixed signals, including an early, failed effort by McElroy to seek a restraining order.
Over the years, the conflict divided opinion in the town. At one point, Johnson supporters attempted to find relief for him at Town Meeting, but a move to change the zoning was roundly defeated. Johnson believes voters misunderstood a complicated article.
Johnson feels misled by the town, which initially gave him the building permit.
"It was an honest mistake, but I have to take the hit for it. ... I've raised it before, and it comes back 'so what?' The story is about Wayne Johnson's arrogance and cavalier attitude."
He believes the town is immune from any legal action, and in any case, "It's not something I want to pursue."
As for the Scheys, McElroy said they haven't felt any backlash from Marblehead neighbors.
"A lot of people are angry because they don't understand the case," he said. "One person has come up to me and gotten in my face. It was unpleasant, but not enough to get me to call my friends down at the police station."
McElroy added that despite his clients' satisfaction at having the sunlight restored, "they're not happy that Mr. Johnson lost his house. And neither am I."
Johnson, for his part, said he feels "confident with what I did and how I treated people. I don't think I have anything to apologize for." Despite his troubles, he declared, "I'm into my future. That's what I'm looking forward to. This is behind me."
He added, "It's been written that there's more to life than a house."
That was written in The Salem News last year. It was a quote from Wayne Johnson.
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