American Notes FUGITIVES

David Friedland was supposed to have drowned in a 1985 scuba-diving accident off the Bahamas. Last week the former New Jersey state senator and convicted extortionist was resurrected. After faking his watery death, Friedland, 50, spent 27 months as one of America's most wanted fugitives. Leading U.S. authorities on a long and costly chase across the globe, Friedland finally landed on the island of Male, in the Maldives archipelago off the coast of India. There he was the flashy proprietor of a chain of upscale scuba-diving boutiques until his recent arrest by Maldivian authorities.

Arriving back in the U.S. under heavy security, Friedland had little time to enjoy his homecoming. Two days after his return, he began serving a seven- year outstanding jail sentence.