In her obituary, the lead FBI investigator on her case, Carl Burrell, called her “brilliant”. Israel died in 2014 of complications from myeloma, aged 75. In it, she wrote: “I still consider the letters to be my best work.” The memoir was a defiant statement, the sincerity of the appeal for forgiveness much in doubt.

She later wrote Can You Ever Forgive Me ?, her fourth and final book, while working as a copy editor for Scholastic magazines. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines for profit in 1993 and was sentenced to six months’ house arrest with five years probation. She died of cancer in 2014.Ī movie about her last book, Can You Ever Forgive Me? a memoir of her crimes, was released on October 19, 2018, starring Melissa McCarthy.After getting in contact with the university, Lowenherz not only confirmed that the letter was stolen, but discovered that Israel was one of the last people to have had access to it. She sold both forged and stolen original works.Īfter being captured by the FBI, Israel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen property in June of 1993 and served six months under house arrest and five years of federal probation. Later, she began stealing genuine letters and autographed papers of famous persons from archives and libraries, replacing them with her own forged copies. To make money, Israel began forging a number of letters, estimated to be over 400, by deceased writers and actors. The biography of Kilgallen appeared on The New York Times Best Sellers List but the Estée Lauder bio was far less successful when it was published in the fall of 1985, in direct competition with Estée Lauder's own memoir. In the 1970s and 1980s she wrote biographies of actress Tallulah Bankhead, journalist and game show panelist Dorothy Kilgallen and cosmetics tycoon Estée Lauder. Her profile of Katharine Hepburn ran in the November 1967 issue of Esquire. She began a career as a freelance writer in the 1960s. To make money, Israel began forging a number of letters, estimated to be over 400, by deceased wr Leonore Carol 'Lee' Israel was an American author, now better known for her literary forgeries than for her two very popular biographies.

Leonore Carol 'Lee' Israel was an American author, now better known for her literary forgeries than for her two very popular biographies.

Can you ever forgive me lee israel