This is a very 2012 sort of story, in the gruesomest possible way.
Michael Marin was once a Wall Street trader, and he must have made a lot of money. In the waning years of the last decade he lived in Arizona, where he was on the hook for almost $20,000 in monthly mortgage payments. In 2008 he had a million dollars in the bank; by the end of 2009 he had nothing. He tried a novel raffle scheme to pay down some of his several millions of dollars of debt. It didn't work. Very soon Marin's mansion burned down, and he was arrested for arson. On Thursday, in Maricopa County, he was convicted as charged. His offense was punishable with up to 16 years in prison.
Video from the courtroom shows Marin surreptitiously gobbling a pill just after the verdict is handed down. He washes the pill down with a sports drink, and a few minutes later begins convulsing. Marin died on his way to a hospital.
See Newsy's coverage of Marin's apparent suicide AFTER THE JUMP …
