NY writer admits suicide attempt during arrest in sex abuse case, says it won’t hapen again

Writer accused of sex abuse admits suicide attempt

NEW YORK — A New York writer accused of sexually abusing young women he lured from overseas has told a judge he won’t commit suicide if released on bail.

Joseph Yannai (YAH’-nay) testified Wednesday at a bail hearing in Brooklyn that he had tried to kill himself with sleeping pills earlier this month when federal agents came to arrest him at his home in the suburbs north of New York City.

The 66-year-old Yannai told the judge he was feeling hopeless at the time. Since then, he said, he has decided he wants to fight the charges.

The judge agreed to release Yannai under house arrest once he posts a $500,000 bond secured by real estate.

Yannai wrote a reference guide called “The International Who’s Who of Chefs 2004-2005.”