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.

One look at the headline, and you can already tell this project is destined to fail.

In a recent post, I wondered whether we are entering a social networking bubble. Social networking is hot right now, and everyone wants a piece, including Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) whose last foray into the space, Yahoo! 360 failed miserably.

According to Bits, Yahoo! is now trying out Yahoo! Mash, which began its invitation-only preview on Friday: "... users can edit each other's profiles, redecorating, changing information, and adding features. Think the Wikipedia version of a social network."

Bits adds that the site currently lacks private messaging, a place to to post your school/job, and an emphasis on music/video. Funny, those are three of the things that have made social networking so big! The initial reviews for the site don't seem to be too positive, and I would expect this one to fade away just like Yahoo! 360. That seems to be what happens with most of Yahoo!'s projects lately, doesn't it?