The girlfriend of a fugitive hedge fund manager who faked his own death to avoid a 20-year sentence was collared today after it emerged she helped him pack a getaway RV and hide it at a highway rest stop, authorities said.
Debra L. Ryan, 45, was busted early in the afternoon by marshals at the rundown Armonk home she’d rented with Samuel Israel. She was hauled off to White Plains federal court and charged with aiding and abetting Israel in his failure to surrender to a federal lockup.
Meanwhile, U.S. Marshals put out a nationwide alert for Israel, who’s believed to be driving a 2007 white Coachman Freelander motor home. Israel is believed to still be in the area and living in the RV, which may have a blue, 2005 Yamaha motor scooter strapped to the back end.
The New York plate number on the motor home is EEN-5973.
Israel, convicted of bilking $450 million from investors through his firm, Bayou Group LLC, has been at large since he failed to show up to start a 20-year federal prison term June 9.
That day, his SUV was found abandoned on the Bear Mountain bridge, with the words “Suicide is Painless” scrawled in dust on the hood. Investigators this week said the suicide scene was staged.
Since Israel’s disappearance, Ryan has repeatedly lied to investigators and withheld information, according to the criminal complaint against her.
She even told State Police she’d found a suicide note from her beau, the papers allege.
But yesterday, Ryan cracked and admitted to marshals that, beginning on June 7, she started helping Israel with his getaway plan.
Ryan, the complaint claims, admitted that she went to a Bedford, N.Y. auto repair shop with Israel and helped him attach the motor scooter to a hydraulic lift on the back of the RV.
The next day, Ryan “helped Israel pack the RV with [his] belongings,” according to the complaint.
And, on the morning he vanished, Israel “woke [Ryan] up and told her that he needed her help” and then had her follow him, in her own car, while he drove the motor home to a highway rest area near the junction of Interstate 684 and Interstate 84.
Ryan then drove Israel back to their house, according to the complaint.
Ryan – an artist who makes money decorating the homes of wealthy Westchester residents for Chirstmas – was ashen and soft-spoken during a 3-minute court appearance Thursday.
She was released on $75,000 bond, and has until Monday morning to produce a co-signer. She surrendered her passport and is under pre-trial supervision.
Wearing rolled magenta shorts, a white T-shirt and khaki jacket, she quietly answered, “yes, your honor” when asked by a judge if she understood the conditions of her release.
Authorities said Israel could be hiding out an RV park, campground or highway rest area. He may be using the aliases “Sam Ryan’ ‘ or “David Clapp, ” and has a tattoo of a bird on his left arm. He takes narcotics for a severe back ailment and is a prescription drug abuser; he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Investigators also said his RV may have body damage on the rear passenger side.
The plates on the motor home are registered to the person who sold it to Israel, but that person is not involved in the disappearance, law enforcement sources said.
Anyone with information should contact the U.S. Marshals at 800-336-0102.
Additional reporting by Kati Cornell