Fugitive hedge fund manager surrenders in Mass.

A convicted hedge fund swindler who set off a national manhunt when he faked his suicide and failed to report to prison last month surrendered to police in Massachusetts today after three weeks on the lam.

Authorities say his own mother helped broker the surrender.

Samuel Israel III, 48, walked into the police station in Southwick, at about 9:15 a.m. wearing a colored T-shirt and shorts, identified himself, and said he was a fugitive wanted by the federal government, officials said.

"He was polite, very contrite and a perfect gentleman at all times," said Southwick police Officer Paul Miles.

Israel disappeared June 9 just hours before he was to report to prison to begin serving a 20-year sentence handed down in April for his role in the collapse of the Bayou hedge funds.

Israel's SUV was found abandoned on a bridge over the Hudson River in suburban New York City with the words "Suicide is Painless" - the theme song for the "MASH" television show - scrawled in dust on the hood.

Prosecutors said he and two other men scammed investors into putting $450 million into the funds by announcing nonexistent profits and providing fake audits, and made millions in commissions on trades that lost money for the investors. The collapse of the funds prompted calls for stricter oversight.

Frank Dawson, public information officer for the US Marshals Service in Boston, said Israel was talking to his mother on his cell phone when he surrendered. He said the marshals' service had been in contact for several days with Israel's mother in Illinois and as a result, the surrender was "more or less expected."

"Obviously, she probably had some kind of influence, which mothers usually do," Dawson said. "He knew they were getting close to him, so he probably did the right thing."

Officials said the RV Israel fled in was found in nearby Granville. Israel had planned to surrender in Granville but the town's part-time police department was closed so he rode a motor scooter to Southwick to turn himself in, they said.

Israel was expected to appear in federal court in Springfield later today. A call to his lawyer, Lawrence S. Bader, wasn't immediately returned.

Almost as soon as Israel's SUV was found, its key in the ignition, authorities suspected he had faked his disappearance. No body was found beneath the 150-foot-high bridge, and the anthem "Suicide is Painless" was sung during a fake suicide in the original "MASH" movie.

His girlfriend, Debra Ryan of Armonk, was arrested 10 days after his disappearance and charged with aiding and abetting his escape.

After Ryan was arrested, officials said Israel took off in a white recreational vehicle carrying a scooter and his belongings. He was thought to be staying at RV parks, campgrounds, or highway rest areas.

Southwick, where Israel turned himself in, is near the Connecticut line about 100 miles southwest of Boston. It is also about 95 miles away from the federal prison in Ayer, Mass., where Israel was to report.

Already facing a lengthy prison term for conspiracy and fraud, Israel was likely to be charged with failing to surrender to serve a federal sentence, authorities said.

Ryan told authorities that on the day Israel was to surrender, she drove her car and he drove the RV to a rest area. Israel parked the RV there, and the two drove back to their home.

After Israel stopped on Bear Mountain Bridge, near West Point about 40 miles north of New York City, surveillance video showed a second car slowly pass his SUV and then stop.

That could explain how he got from the bridge to the rest area, but authorities have never confirmed reports that the driver of the second car had been questioned.

Ryan could face as many as 10 years in prison if convicted in the scheme to help Israel flee.

In a separate development, federal prosecutors announced today that more than $115 million is available to pay back victims of the Bayou fraud. The money includes whatever was forfeited by Israel and his co-defendants as part of their sentences, plus interest. The total loss to investors was about $300 million. (AP)