Samuel Israel III, the Bayou Group founder who led the FBI on a merry chase after failing to show up to serve his prison term, has recovered sufficiently to plead guilty to escape, a federal judge said last week.

But Israel still hasn’t pleaded guilty as the proceeding was delayed until March 16, to give the convicted ex-hedge fund manager more time to talk to his lawyers, according to news reports.

The day he was supposed to turn himself in at a Massachusetts prison to start serving a 20-year prison term, Israel pretended to jump off a bridge in upstate New York. He hid out in campgrounds for a month before turning himself in. The prison term was the result of the $450 million fraud Israel orchestrated at his hedge fund firm Bayou Group.

Israel was supposed to plead guilty to the escape charge, but the judge sent him to a prison hospital for medical and psychological evaluations after he appeared to be confused. Israel has admitted to abusing prescription drugs for back pain.