Jul 3, 2008 7:15 pm US/Eastern
Hedge Fund Scammer Tells NY Judge He Tried Suicide
Samuel Israel III May Face Another 10 Years For Stunt
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Missing hedge fund swindler Samuel Israel III surrendered to federal agents in Southwick, Mass. on Wednesday. (File)
AP
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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
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This is a picture of the RV federal agents believe missing hedge fund swindler Samuel Israel III went on the run in.
CBS
A convicted Wall Street swindler says he botched a suicide after he faked one.
Samuel Israel III was back in New York on Friday and felt the wrath of a federal judge.
The former fugitive hedge fund manager said he tried to kill himself after he faked his own death. A day after surrendering in Massachusetts, Israel made that improbable claim in federal court.
He's the guy whose SUV was found on the Bear Mountain Bridge on June 9, the day he was supposed to surrender to prison authorities. Someone wrote the words "suicide is painless" in the dust on the hood, and the U.S. Marshals spent days looking for his body in the Hudson River.
In reality he'd made off in a recreational vehicle equipped with a scooter and apparently headed to New England. He now says he tried to do himself in this week by overdosing on massive amounts of painkillers.
"I woke up a little battered and bruised and realized God didn't want me to do that so I turned myself in," Israel said.
Israel cheerfully told the judge that the first police station he stopped at on Wednesday was closed so he had to ride his motor scooter to the next town.
Judge Colleen McMahon wasn't amused.
"The bail in this case will be applied to the resources that taxpayers have incurred to find Mr. Israel and bring him back to justice," McMahon said.
Israel was convicted of bilking hundreds of millions from investors in the Bayou Fund. He initially earned leniency by cooperating with prosecutors, but has now dissipated that goodwill.
A grand jury in Manhattan will consider additional charges that could add 10 years to his existing 20-year prison sentence.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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