Hedge fund CEO dies in fall off escalator

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Atlantic City police are investigating how a hedge fund executive fell to his death from an escalator.

James Vellanti is the second man in two years to plunge from an escalator at The Pier Shops at Caesars.

Police were called to the mall, which is connected to the casino by a sky bridge, at 12:01 a.m. yesterday.

Vellanti lived in Clinton and was chief operating officer for the hedge fund JNF Asset Management LLC in New York. His age was not available.

Frank Gilbert Jr. fell about 40 feet after witnesses said the 25-year-old sat on the escalator's handrail on Aug. 9, 2008. He died of head injuries.

-- The Associated Press