Police say a New York man was arrested on Monday for renting a bulldozer and demolishing his own home, which actually legally belonged to his wife. James Rhein, 48, of Middleton, was arrested on a felony charge of criminal mischief after knocking down the Woodland Ave property with an excavator. Rhein said the house had been in disrepair for years and that he went to get a permit to pull it down, however the office was shut for Martin Luther King Day. So he decided to demolish it himself - all 840-square-feet of the ranch-style, one-story home, according to NBC New York.
@highlight
One-story ranch-style home in Middletown, New York
@highlight
James Rhein, 48, says he tried to get a permit Monday but office was shut
@highlight
He then hired a bulldozer and excavated the site himself
@highlight
Later admitted his wife did not know what he was doing
Not anymore: James Rhein, of @placeholder, is facing second-degree felony charges for allegedly using an excavator to knock down his wife's house while his wife was running errands