July 30 (Bloomberg) -- The 82-year-old broker who handled investments for the New London Security Federal Credit Union committed suicide hours after federal regulators closed the lender.

Edwin F. Rachleff, a broker with A.G. Edwards Inc. who handled the credit union's investments for decades, jumped from a window on the top floor of an 11-story apartment building for seniors in New London at about 6:30 p.m. on July 28, The Day newspaper said. The office of the state's chief medical examiner told Bloomberg that it had ruled Rachleff's death a suicide.

The credit union, chartered in 1936 and based in the Connecticut city of the same name, was placed into liquidation by the National Credit Union Administration after it determined ``that the credit union is insolvent'' and that it ``has no prospects for restoring viable operations.''

The lender had 365 members and assets of $12.7 million at the time of closing, regulators said in a statement on their Web site. Filings show New London had total shares and deposits of $10.4 million as of March this year and that it had written only nine loans during that period.

New London was discovered to be insolvent during a routine exam, National Credit Union Administration spokeswoman Cherie Umble said. She said the organization had spent $5 million closing six credit unions in the first half of the year.

The credit union was open three days a week and had two employees, both of whom worked part-time, according to The Day.

The closing was the ninth of a U.S. credit union this year and the second in Connecticut this month, Umble said. The Meridien F.A. Federal Credit Union was closed July 16.

Federal regulators declined to discuss any possibility of a connection between the lender's closing and Rachleff's death, according to the newspaper.

Health Problems

Calls to New London police spokesman Captain William Dittman weren't answered and a message was not returned.

Rachleff had numerous health problems since injuring his spleen last year, including failing eyesight that kept him from driving a car, playing golf and reading, The Day quoted a family friend, John Budds, as saying. Rachleff was faced with the loss of his broker's license because he couldn't read, the newspaper said. Rachleff wasn't a resident of the building from which he jumped.

Herb Linder, the president of the credit union's board of directors, said Rachleff was ``forthright and upright, one of the most honest people I know,'' The Day quoted him as saying.

The credit union traced its roots back to the Great Depression, when Jewish merchants in the city 43 miles from Hartford in southeastern Connecticut couldn't find bank loans, according to the newspaper.

Rachleff was born January 24, 1926. He is survived by his wife and two sons, The Day said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Linda Shen in New York at lshen21@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 30, 2008 16:04 EDT