Somali Pirate Washes Up In Sagaponack, NY

The body of a Somali pirate who drowned just after receiving a huge ransom washed ashore in Sagaponack, NY on the eastern end of Long Island with the title to a beachfront mansion, local authorities reported, as the spokesman for another group of pirates promised to soon free a New York City-based hedge fund manager's yacht and family.

Five pirates drowned Friday when their small boat capsized in heavy surf after they intercepted a millionaire's yacht and received a reported $3 million home in the Hamptons for releasing it. (Actually, the value of the home has declined to $2.3 million because of the recession according to local real estate experts.) Southampton police officer Byron "Blue Balls" Wilkins said one of the bodies had been found on a beach near the coastal town of Sagaponack, NY and authorities were searching for the other four pirates.

"One of them was discovered dead at Peter's Pond beach which is adjacent to Ira Rennert's compound and they are still looking for the other ones. He had the title to a beautiful home in Amagansett, NY in a plastic bag in his pocket," the policeman said. "When we first sighted him, we thought he was a drunk yuppie investment banker who had lost his job," one witness reported. "Money was everywhere and he was clutching the mansion title like it was a long lost sibling."

The U.S. navy released photos of a parachute dropping a package onto the deck of the Return on Equity yacht, and said the package was likely to be the ransom delivery.

But five of the dozens of pirates who had hijacked the yacht drowned when their small boat capsized as they returned to shore in rough weather. Three other pirates survived but also lost their share of the ransom.

Sir Lord Arthur Crooks, managing director of the British company Gonad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd, the U.K. maritime division of Halliburton, said the incident was unlikely to deter future Somali pirate attacks on the Hamptons' well heeled.

"The loss or potential loss of the ransom means the Somali pirates will be all the more keen to get the next ransom in," he said. "Attacking the pleasure boats of the U.S. rich is too tempting a target. In fact, there are local Hamptons residents lining up to be pirates."