Ex-B&C Chief in Murder-Suicide

Walter Buczynski, a former top executive of Fieldstone Mortgage, jumped to his death over the weekend from the Delaware Memorial Bridge after allegedly killing his wife, authorities say. Among subprime firms, Columbia, Md.-based Fieldstone ranked 23rd, according to the Mortgage Industry Directory. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in November. According to combined news reports, police said marital problems led Mr. Buczynski to kill his wife, not the financial woes of the now-defunct lender. In February 2007, C-BASS bought Fieldstone, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, for $260 million. (Last summer, in the wake of the margin calls, MGIC and Radian wrote down their interest in C-BASS by $1 billion.) The Burlington County (N.J.) prosecutor's office said the former executive, 59, left a suicide/murder note inside his car indicating that his wife could be found in their home in Southern New Jersey. Authorities said their two sons were safe.