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Tag: Suicide

A Strange Story in Eilat

November 28, 2009 / / 0 Comments

A 44-year-old man from Eilat who posted a suicide note on his Facebook profile was found injured on Wednesday.

The man who for now shall remain nameless is a recently divorced father of a 10-year-old girl. When one of his friends saw his Facebook note on Tuesday they tried to locate him – when their attempts proved unsuccessful, they contacted the local police. Specialist army troops and helicopters were deployed in the manhunt.

Investigators were able to pinpoint the man’s cell phone, which allowed them to trace his car to a riverbed, close to an army base; the phone was in the car but the man was still missing.

The man was finally located early Wednesday morning in a crevice in the riverbed, a distance from the car. He was fully conscious and able to walk, but had two broken ribs after a fall. He was immediately taken to Yoseftal Hospital in Eilat.

The man said that he had no intention of killing himself, despite the post on his Facebook wall. He will be questioned by police once his condition is totally stabilized.

World Wide Suicide

October 26, 2009 / / 1 Comment

Former Maccabi Tel Aviv manager Moni Fanan is not unique in his tragic suicide. The last year, characterized by the current recession, has been responsible for countless other suicides and tragic incidents.

Ronan Bell, a 35-year-old Venice man from Venice, California, killed himself last month at a beach pier, when his financial debts drove him insane.

On April 16, a pharmacist opened fire on the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, in California. He killed two co-workers before turning the gun on himself. An article in China View says about this particular incident, that Police cited the “tension going on in our society” as a contributing factor.

William Parente, a New York lawyer, who had lost roughly a collective 27 billion dollars for his clients, killed his wife and his two daughters, before killing himself in his Maryland Hotel Room on April 19.

David KellermanThe most famous suicide report in the last year was that of Freddie Mac CFO, David Kellerman, who was found hanging in the basement of his Washington home on April 22.

A report done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exposed that in Los Angeles alone the suicide count went from 695 in 2007 to 805 in 2008.

Americans have nothing to compare this era to except for the Great Depression, in which, suicide rates rose from 14 to 17 for every 100,000 Americans from 1929 to 1933, as unemployment rates soared from 3.2 per cent to 24.9% in the same period.

An article in China Views says that, “Based on previous experience, researchers predict that suicide rates will go higher if the economy continues to deteriorate.” We all pray that this will not be the case, as we all can realistically expect lay-offs and unemployment to increase yet slightly more, as the economy does begin to pick itself up off of the floor.

The chief of psychiatry at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Steven Garlow said, “There is very clearly a relationship between macroeconomic conditions and suicide…in times of financial hardship, financial distress, upheaval, there is an increase in suicide.”

Since the recession does not only hurt the United States, but the whole world, the suicide back lash is also being observed globally. France Telecom, a bankrupt, state-run, French company has already lost 25 employees to suicide. The company has laid-off 22,000 workers between 2006 and 2008.

A Sad Farewell to an Israeli Sports Icon

October 25, 2009 / / 1 Comment

The ex-manager and vice chairman of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club, Moni Fanan was found hanging in his North Tel Aviv apartment Tuesday, in an obvious suicide.

fananThose who knew Fanan were aware that he had accumulated upwards of $20 million in debt, as an unfortunate result of his investing large sums of money in a “gray market” company for other Israeli sports figures. It is said that he had had people investing tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars, in the promise that the investments would yield 1 to 1.5% a month in cash.
The reality of his debts, police, family and friends feel was what prompted him to take his own life.

Sharon Fanan, his wife, found his body in the shower at their home in Ramat Aviv. An ambulance arrived at the scene, but the paramedics were unable to resuscitate him. An article in Haaretz reports:

Dozens of players and fans of the Maccabi basketball dynasty arrived at the home over the following hours, including national team coach Zvi Sherf, and former star player Oded Katash.

While working for the Maccabbi Tel Aviv basketball franchise for almost 30 years, Fanan also worked for the You-Share finance and investment firm, a company that specializes in “gray market” check-cashing and loans. Apparently the firm was located outside of Israel and went bankrupt. While it was no secret that Fanan was involved with the company, he insisted that he had never cashed a check for a player or referee involved in Israeli basketball.

Haaretz reported in a recent article that:

the former manager habitually used money from other figures in Israeli basketball, including referees, coaches and players, and invested it in non-banking investment in exchange for high interest rates. Sources close to Fanan said it is possible that the bankruptcy of an investment firm outside Israel in which he had invested millions of shekels may have brought the legendary manager to take his own life.

One investor who lost tens of thousands with Fanan was quoted as saying:

“Dozens of people gave him tremendous amounts of money. He would promise to deliver the monthly yield in cash, and it would arrive in envelopes to some of the people. I have no idea where he would invest the money given to him, but over the years the money would come back like clockwork.”

The 63 year-old Fanan left behind a wife and two children. He became the manager of the ball club officially in 1992. After several times threatening to quit, he finally left his post last year. Since he left no suicide note, it was also suspected that perhaps he could not bear the separation from his players. The debts acquired as a result of the investment scheme seems more likely, though.

The Jerusalem Post reported:

Fanan’s funeral will take place on Tuesday afternoon at Qiryat Shaul Cemetery and will not be attended by any of the club’s current players and coaches, or even long-serving Maccabi chairman Shimon Mizrahi. Maccabi is currently in Los Angeles preparing for Tuesday night’s benefit game against the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. The club considered canceling the encounter, but after realizing that it is impossible to return to Israel in time for the funeral, the management decided to continue its US tour as scheduled.

Late breaking news out of London informs that the suicide of Fanan is being linked to a missing London stock broker named, Nicholas Levene. The London Times reported that “Fanan’s links to Levene had left him ₤12 million in debt to former players, basketball coaches and club managers.”

What exactly the relationship entailed has yet to be discovered.

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