NEW YORK (AP) -- A hedge fund swindler who set off a national manhunt when he faked his suicide the day he was supposed to report to prison surrendered to small-town police in Massachusetts on Wednesday after hiding out for the last three weeks in his RV.
Authorities say Samuel Israel III rode up to the police station in Southwick on his scooter and turned himself in while talking to his mom on his cell phone. The U.S. Marshals Service had been in touch with the mother for several days as the feds zeroed in on her fugitive son.
``Obviously, she probably had some kind of influence, which mothers usually do,'' said Frank Dawson, public information officer for the U.S. Marshals Service in Boston. ``He knew they were getting close to him, so he probably did the right thing.''
Israel appeared in federal court in Springfield for a hearing, saying he needed medical attention and asking the judge that he be sent to the federal medical prison in Massachusetts where he is supposed to be serving his sentence.
But the judge denied his request and sent him back to New York to face an additional charge related to his time on the run. ``I'm afraid you're going to have to go back to New York,'' Judge Michael Ponsor said.
The surrender was just the latest twist in a bizarre saga that began on June 9 when the 48-year-old Israel was to report to prison to begin serving a 20-year sentence handed down in April for his role in the collapse of the Bayou hedge funds.
Israel's SUV was found abandoned on a bridge over the Hudson River in suburban New York City with the words ``Suicide is Painless'' _ the theme song for the ``MASH'' television show _ scrawled in dust on the hood.
Authorities scoured the river for a body and quickly determined that the suicide was all a ruse _ that Israel was on the run in his white RV carrying a scooter and his belongings. He was thought to be staying at RV parks, campgrounds or highway rest areas. The government also arrested Israel's girlfriend on charges that she helped her lover elude the government.
Officials said Israel's RV was found in nearby Granville. Israel had planned to surrender in Granville but the town's part-time police department was closed, so he rode a motor scooter to nearby Southwick to turn himself in, authorities said.
Israel walked into the police station at about 9:15 a.m. wearing a colored T-shirt and shorts, identified himself and said he was a fugitive wanted by the federal government, officials said.
``He was polite, very contrite and a perfect gentleman at all times,'' said Southwick police Officer Paul Miles.
Israel did not have a lawyer with him during his court appearance. A call to his attorney, Lawrence S. Bader, wasn't immediately returned. His mother refused comment when reached at her home in Illinois.
Prosecutors said Israel and two other men scammed investors into putting $450 million into the hedge funds by announcing nonexistent profits and providing fake audits, and made millions in commissions on trades that lost money for the investors. The case broke as hedge funds came under greater scrutiny from prosecutors.
Israel's investment banking career and management of the hedge funds brought him fabulous wealth _ he once rented a house from Donald Trump for $32,000 a month.
Israel was charged Wednesday with failing to surrender to serve a federal sentence. That comes on top of the conspiracy and fraud charges that led to his prison sentence, and could lead to an increased sentence of up to 10 years.
In a separate development, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that more than $115 million is available to pay back victims of the Bayou fraud. The money includes whatever was forfeited by Israel and his co-defendants as part of their sentences, plus interest. The total loss to investors was about $300 million.
Complicating Israel's time on the run were his medical problems. He has had nine back surgeries, wears a pacemaker and is addicted to painkillers, according to prosecutors.
His ailments _ along with 2 1/2 years of cooperating with authorities _ helped him get less than the maximum 30-year sentence. Judge Colleen McMahon also granted him two months to surrender to prison after he was sentenced.
Billy Sorukas, chief of domestic investigation for the U.S. Marshals Service, said investigators were aware he was taking medications for back pain but it was believed he had ample supply.
``This case, in and of itself, is important, but it's probably more important to the victims of his crime than it is to us. We arrested 95,000 fugitive felons last year. There are victims in all of those cases,'' Sorukas said.
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