Israel pleads guilty to jumping bail

Samuel Israel III, founder of hedge fund company Bayou Group LLC, pled guilty to charges related to his attempts to jump bail and flee on the day he was to begin a 20-year sentence for orchestrating a $400 million fraudulent hedge-fund scheme. “I plead guilty,” Mr. Israel said in a White Plains, N.Y, federal court, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith, who refused to accept the plea and suggested that he enter the plea before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District, in New York City, according to published reports. Mr. Israel surrendered to police in Southwick, Mass., on July 2, three weeks after he left his car on the Bear Mountain Bridge in Orange County, N.Y., with the phrase “suicide is painless” scrawled on the windshield. He faces one count for failure to appear to serve his sentence and must forfeit his $500,000 bail. The charges could add as much as 10 years to his prison sentence. Mr. Israel pled guilty in September 2005 to charges of conspiracy and fraud in connection with a scheme to cheat Bayou Group investors out of $450 million. He has been ordered to pay $300 million to his victims. Prosecutors have filed charges against Debra Ryan, Israel's girlfriend, accusing her of helping him flee.