Militant chief of Jewish Defense League dies

LOS ANGELES — Irv Rubin, the militant chief of the Jewish Defense League (JDL), died in a hospital nine days after he attempted suicide, authorities say, while awaiting trial for allegedly planning to bomb a mosque.

Within hours of Rubin's death late Wednesday, his widow threatened to sue unless federal authorities turned over more information.

Authorities have rejected Shelley Rubin's request for an independent investigation, attorney Peter Morris said yesterday. Unless they do so, the lawyer said, he will sue to gain access to records regarding Rubin's imprisonment and death.

Rubin, 57, was pronounced dead Wednesday night at County-University of Southern California Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. His organs began to fail, he was resuscitated, and then his heart failed, his lawyers said.

Authorities said Rubin tried to kill himself Nov. 4 in the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles by slitting his throat with a razor and then jumping 18 feet to a concrete floor. He never regained consciousness.

Rubin, 57, had been in federal custody without bail since his arrest last December for allegedly plotting to blow up the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, Calif., and the office of a Lebanese-American congressman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. Rubin and Earl Krugel, his co-defendant and chief lieutenant in the JDL, pleaded not guilty.

Rubin had lost 60 pounds during his incarceration and had seen a prison psychologist at least once, Morris said.

Federal officials have said repeatedly that they have no evidence that Rubin's injuries were anything but self-inflicted.

Rubin gained notoriety over the years for offering a $500 reward to anyone who killed a member of the American Nazi Party. He also fought with Ku Klux Klan members on television's "The Jerry Springer Show" and publicly celebrated the murder of a prominent Arab American. Rubin's extreme views led to his denunciation by mainstream Jewish leaders.

"I would like to think that he would be remembered for standing up for Jews. But unfortunately this indictment and what appears to be a suicide detract from some of the positive things he had done," said attorney James Blatt, who defended Rubin over the years.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.