Ex-Prosecutor Facing Prison Kills Himself

A former New Jersey prosecutor who jumped bail more than a week ago rather than go to prison shot himself to death Tuesday in a casino hotel room after federal marshals kicked in the door.

Nicholas Bissell, who was convicted of skimming $146,000 from his business to live a life of gambling and luxury, stuck a gun in his mouth and fired as officers tried to talk him into surrendering, marshals said.

The news stunned those who remembered him as a brash, often arrogant crime fighter proud of the millions in assets his office seized in drug cases.

Bissell served 13 years as the prosecutor in fast-growing, prosperous Somerset County in central New Jersey. He was indicted in 1995 and fired the next day.

Bissell, 49, vanished Nov. 18 while under house arrest, cutting off his electronic monitoring bracelet and leaving it on a kitchen counter along with what was characterized as a suicide note.

He fled just two days before he was to be sentenced for fraud, abuse of power and other charges for which prosecutors planned to seek a 10-year sentence. In going on the run, he forfeited his $300,000 bail--risking his mother’s condominium, which had been used to secure his bond.

Federal authorities would not say how he was tracked down at the Colorado Belle Hotel in this gambling town of 8,000. His green Jeep Cherokee was found nearby, with license plates that had been stolen in Kentucky.

Four deputy marshals and two police officers knocked on Bissell’s door, then kicked it in, said Jim Umbach, deputy U.S. marshal in Phoenix. Bissell put a gun to his head but lowered it as marshals tried to negotiate with him, Umbach said.

“They talked to him about his family and friends and people who care about him,” Umbach said. “Finally, after about 10 minutes, he put the gun in his mouth and fired.”

He had been convicted along with his wife, Barbara. Prosecutors said the couple skimmed about $146,000 from a gas station business from 1991 to 1994 without the knowledge of their partners. Much of the money was spent on a home, luxury cars, private schools for their two teen-age daughters, and the roulette wheels of Atlantic City, N.J.