Tip: If you're going to fake your suicide, don't use a line from MAS*H

Posted Jul 2nd 2008 4:44PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Law, Scandals

By now you've probably heard that Samuel Israel, the hedge fund fraudster who faked his suicide and went on the run on June 9 rather than report to prison, has turned himself in in western Massachusetts. He will now be transferred to prison, but could also face additional charges.

The day he disappeared, his GMC Envoy was found at the Bear Mountain Bridge near the Hudson River with the words "suicide is painless" written in dust on the hood.

This was the first hint that the suicide was a fake: "Suicide is painless", the theme song for the 1980s hit show M*A*S*H, was sung during a fake suicide in the movie version of the show.

Folks, faking your death to flee from prison is no time for jokes, especially not one that suggests the whole thing is a fake. According to the New York Times, the discovery of the connection to M*A*S*H was seen as a sign that the suicide was fake and may have actually contributed to the failure of the escape attempt.

For more stories of criminal incompetence, check out the Stupid Criminal Files.

Tags: MASH, Samuel Israel, SamuelIsrael, suicide is painless, SuicideIsPainless