Nicholas L. Bissell, Jr.
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Nicholas L. Bissell, Jr. (January 14, 1947 – November 27, 1996) was a Somerset County, New Jersey prosecutor who after being charged with embezzlement, tax fraud and abuse of power fled to Laughlin, Nevada near Las Vegas, Nevada and took his own life.
He was the son of Nicholas L. Bissell, Sr. (1919-2002). His downfall began on May 10, 1990 with the arrest of James Giuffre of Union, New Jersey on charges of selling $700 worth of cocaine. The charges would be dropped if Giuffre forfeited two plots of land to the prosecutor's office. He forfeited the two lots, valued at $174,000, and they were sold at auction for a fraction of their value, to acquaintances of someone in Bissell's prosecution office. Giuffre then contacted the FBI. Bissell was arrested, but released under the condition that he wear an electronic bracelet. He snipped it off on November 18, 1996 and fled to Nevada, where he was tracked down by monitoring his cell phone usage. He fatally shoot himself after a 10-minute standoff in his hotel room, as a Federal marshal tried to coax him from the room.
[edit] References
- New York Times; November 27, 1996; Trapped, Fugitive Ex-Prosecutor Kills Himself in a Nevada Hotel. Nicholas L Bissell Jr, former Somerset County, New Jersey, prosecutor who fled to escape prison sentence for corruption and fraud, fatally shoots himself in Laughlin, Nevada, hotel casino as Federal marshal tries to coax him from room; ends 10-minute standoff after telling marshal who tracked him from New Jersey that he could not face prospect of spending next decade of his life in jail; Federal officials say he gave away whereabouts since fleeing home on November 18 by making cellular telephone calls to relatives and friends
- New York Times; December 1, 1996 ; In Prosecutor's Rise and Fall, a Story of Ambition, Deceit and Shame.
- New York Times; January 6, 1997; U.S. Marshals Say Bissell Sought to Make New Life; Federal marshals say that when Nicholas L. Bissell Jr, former Somerset County Prosecutor, snipped off his electronic bracelet and fled his New Jersey home on Nov 18, it was part of careful plan to make new life as fugitive; say that he made certain preparations shortly before escaping rather than serve prison sentence on Federal charges of embezzlement, tax fraud and abuse of power; Bissell shot himself to death after being found in Nevada casino motel room.
- New York Times; August 16, 1997; Judge Rules U.S. Can Seize Bissell's Assets; US District Court Judge Alfred J Lechner rules that US Government can seize assets of former Somerset County, NJ, Prosecutor Nicholas L. Bissell, Jr., who was convicted in 1996 on Federal charges of embezzlement, tax fraud and abuse of power, which was posted as bail before he fled and killed himself in November; Lechner says Bissell's flight was willful and there was no mitigating circumstances.
