'Wanted': Hedge-Fund Fraud Convict

WHITE PLAINS — Federal marshals in New York have issued a "WANTED" poster that says a missing hedge-fund swindler should be considered "armed and dangerous."

The subject of the poster, Samuel Israel III, disappeared Monday. He was supposed to start a 20-year prison sentence that day for bilking investors out of $450 million in his Bayou hedge funds.

His car was found on a bridge over the Hudson River, with "Suicide is Painless" etched into the dust on the hood. But no body has been found and investigators believe he may be on the lam.

The poster does not explain why Israel is considered dangerous. A call to the marshals office was not immediately returned yesterday. The U.S. attorney's office said it could not comment.