Colts Neck fire: Keith Caneiro brother Paul was first hire for fledgling tech business
When Keith Caneiro needed help to keep up with his fledgling technology business, he hired his brother, Paul, as his first employee.
Back then, he went by the name Keith Martin, making his middle name his last name. The company was based in Brooklyn. And it had just landed a big client — installing computer networks for Citibank.
"If I worked 10 days a week, I would never be able to finish (the) projects that I had," he told the Asbury Park Press in a 2001 business profile.
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Keith Caneiro now is at the center of a baffling mystery. He was found Tuesday shot to death outside his mansion in Colts Neck. His wife, Jennifer, and their two children were found slain inside their home. And the home was on fire.
Paul's home in Ocean Township also was the scene of an early-morning fire on Tuesday. Paul was charged with arson Wednesday in connection to the fire at his home.
The smell of fire wafted into neighbors’ yards on nearby Evergreen Lane in Colts Neck on Wednesday morning. County emergency response vehicles remained at the scene, and dozens of firefighters stood outside the white home — its windows charred.
Inna Volshteyn’s house on Evergreen Lane abuts the Caneiros’ property. Her daughter went to school with the Caneiro’s children and was a grade younger than the Caneiro’s daughter. They celebrated birthdays together and trick-or-treated each others’ homes, she said.
Colts Neck fire: Here's what we know so far
Jennifer Caneiro was beautiful and always smiling, Volshteyn said.
On Tuesday, the day of the fire, Volshteyn said, her groundskeepers notified her husband there was fire at the Caneiros’ home. Her husband went to the house and found the victims inside, calling 911, Volshteyn said.
On Wednesday morning, the Caneiros’ children were not waiting for the school bus, Volshteyn said.
“It was strange,” she said.
It marked a tragic end for Keith Caneiro.
A businessman, he appeared to have his hand in lots of ventures. The computer company he founded, Square One, shares space in Asbury Park with two other companies he is tied to: EcoStar Pest Management, a pest control company; and Jay-Martin Consulting, a technology company derived from the brothers' middle names.
The business is on the second story above The Speakeatery restaurant in a refurbished building on Cookman Avenue. A source who works nearby told the Asbury Park Press that he never saw Keith at the business, but Paul was around regularly.
Keith Caneiro also was a licensed real estate agent. His web page says he is an agent with Keller Williams Realty in Shrewsbury. He has an active license, according to the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.
Keith's Facebook page says he went to John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, but he got his college degree later in life. A Columbia University spokesperson confirmed that he graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 2014 from the School of General Studies and a master's degree from the School of Professional Studies just last February.
A Facebook photo shows him in a Columbia cap and gown, smiling next to Jennifer.
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In the interview with the Press in 2001, Keith Caneiro said he grew up with a passion for computers that was so strong that he worked as a janitor at a computer store for free, while moonlighting at McDonald's and Burger King to make money.
The owner of the computer store eventually gave him a chance to be a salesman. He left in 1986 to train workers at a typesetting business how to use the new technology. He started Jay-Martin Consulting in Brooklyn, hired his brother, and moved the business to New Jersey, first to Woodbridge in 1991, then to Holmdel in 1996.
Keith was the president of Jay-Martin; Paul was vice president, according to state records.
The two brothers also are listed as officers, along with Ceasar Caneiro, with Acropolis Holding Corp., which appears to be the parent company for the pest control business, according to state records. Ceasar's relationship to the brothers isn't clear.
By the time the internet bubble was about to burst in 2001, their technology business had grown to $4.5 million in annual sales and 26 employees.
Keith Caneiro said his clients had expanded from Citibank to other banking giants, including Chase Manhattan and J.P. Morgan.
And Square One landed a contract to design and install a computer network, 41 work stations and a sales system for the American Family Immigration History Center at Ellis Island. It featured interactive stations, allowing people to research their family histories.
"Your reputation is what travels with you," Keith Caneiro told the Press.
When Keith Caneiro needed help to keep up with his fledgling technology business, he hired his brother, Paul, as his first employee.
