Jun 16, 2008 5:30 pm US/Eastern
Feds Rule Out Suicide In Trader Death Case
NEW YORK (CBS News) ―
It's been a strange case - the case of hedge fund swindler Samuel Israel.
Last week, it appeared he killed himself rather than serve a long-stretch in prison.
But now, federal authorities have launched a global manhunt, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.
CBS News has learned that authorities don't consider Israel a suicide victim - but a fugitive.
This, a week after his car was found abandoned on a bridge high atop New York's Hudson River with the message "suicide is painless" written in dust on the hood.
Federal investigators tell CBS News they ruled out suicide, in part, because no witnesses in the immediate area saw anyone jump into the water. They have also stopped searching the river.
U.S. Marshalls have issued a Wanted poster stating Israel should be considered "armed and dangerous."
One federal official tells CBS News there is "reason to believe he may be potentially prone to erratic or violent behavior."
It turned out the 48-year-old trader fueled his high-life by bilking investors out of $450 million through the "bayou" fund he founded - it was the biggest hedge-fund fraud in history.
Israel was eventually sentenced to 20 years and ordered to pay $300 million in restitution.
"This seems to be the last chapter in the fraud tht went on for six years," said investor attorney Ross Intersano.
Efforts to locate Israel through credit cards or other means have come up empty.
And fraud victims are wondering why a scam artist convicted of these kinds of crimes was allowed to drive himself to prison.
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