Jun 20, 2008 12:05 pm US/Eastern
MIA Hedge Fund Swindler's Girlfriend Gives Clues
Samuel Israel III Still On Lam 10 Days After Disappearing
WHITE PLAINS (CBS) ―
-
-
Debra Ryan, of Armonk, admitted to investigators that she helped Samuel Israel pack up the RV and saw him park it on a highway rest area on June 9, the day he was supposed to report to federal prison for the start of a 20-year term.
CBS
-
-
This is a picture of the RV federal agents believe missing hedge fund swindler Samuel Israel III went on the run in.
CBS
-
-
Missing hedge fund swindler Samuel Israel III went on the run in a white recreational vehicle carrying a motor scooter, federal agents said after arresting his girlfriend.
CBS
More pieces are coming together in the mysterious disappearance of the hedge fund swindler who faked his suicide on the Bear Mountain Bridge. His girlfriend is now revealing some of what she knows to authorities.
The 44-year-old live-in girlfriend of Wall Street swindler Sam Israel III stonewalled investigators for a week and a half before admitting that she helped the hustler pack his belongings into a 2007 coach Freelander shortly before he was to begin serving a 20-year prison term. She told police she waited while he parked it at a highway rest area and then drove him back to their home.
Debra Ryan also said she helped Israel load a blue Yamaha motor scooter into the RV. But police say she's not the person who picked Israel up on the Bear Mountain Bridge after he faked his death by writing "suicide is painless" on the hood of his car in an attempt to fool cops.
"He's got to be guilty if he's running away. I would think he would be. I've never seen him here. I have to admit that. But I'm sure they'll catch him," said neighbor Al Schwab.
Schwab, an accountant, works right across the road from where Israel and Ryan rented a modest gray ranch a few months ago. In the tiny town of 3,500 inhabitants, Israel was barely known, except at Armonk's Country Kitchen, where he ordered an egg white burrito practically every day.
"I was shocked. It's a small community. We're on a first name basis with everyone here. It's so strange to see that someone who comes in here everyday would do something like that," said manager Dave Fernandez.
For her alleged role in Israel's disappearance, Ryan is being charged with aiding and abetting, and if convicted faces up to 10 years in prison. She's expected back in court on Monday.
Police believe Israel is armed and dangerous. Investigators are still looking for his accomplice who drove him from the Bear Mountain Bridge.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
2009 Celebrity Deaths
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments