RUBIN SLASHES THROAT, TUMBLES.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

Jailed Jewish Defense League leader Irv Rubin slashed his neck and throat and plunged 18 feet from a balcony Monday, and his attorney said he was declared brain dead and put on life support.

Rubin, 57, accused of plotting to bomb a mosque and an Arab-American congressman's office, used a razor blade in the 6 a.m. suicide attempt and was in critical condition after undergoing surgery at an undisclosed hospital, U.S. Marshal's spokesman Bill Woolsey said. Attorney Peter Morris said Rubin's wife and two sons had been called to his bedside.

The militant Jewish leader had been scheduled to appear in court Monday for a hearing in his case. He and a second member of the militant group were arrested last year and were awaiting trial.

Rubin slashed his neck and throat with a razor and then fell or jumped from a balcony at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center as he and other inmates lined up for breakfast, officials said.

``There is no evidence at this point that it was anything but a suicide,'' Woolsey said.

Initially, hospital personnel told prosecutors and defense attorneys that Rubin had died in surgery, said Bryan Altman, also a Rubin attorney. Lawyers in turn told Rubin's family that he had died.

The FBI was investigating what it called a ``crime in a government property,'' spokeswoman Laura Bosley said. She could not confirm that it was a suicide attempt.

Rubin's family alleged that Rubin had been attacked.

``My husband would never kill himself. This was a hit,'' said his wife, Shelley. ``I saw my husband yesterday. He was just the same as before. He didn't say goodbye. He said I will see you in court tomorrow. He was fine.''

Rubin and associate Earl Krugel were arrested Dec. 11 on charges of plotting to bomb the King Fahd mosque in Culver City and an office of Rep. Darrell E. Issa, R-Calif. Issa is the grandson of Lebanese immigrants.

A complaint against the two men quoted Krugel as saying during a meeting that Arabs ``need a wake-up call.''

Before his arrest Rubin lived in Monrovia. He once resided in the San Fernando Valley area and was known in the 1970s for his involvement in self-defense training and local demonstrations on behalf of the Jewish Defense League.

Alfred Beardsley, a longtime friend, said Rubin had become increasingly despondent recently as his legal proceedings dragged on.

Beardsley said Rubin told him in a letter that he'd rather die than remain in jail much longer, even as he continued to profess his innocence and to claim the government had a vendetta against him.

Rubin became ``more and more depressed'' and had lost more than 40 pounds while in jail, Beardsley said.

``I thought he'd stay and fight it out, that he'd be home for the holidays, but then there was another delay until January ... and he just gave up.''

Rubin and Krugel were arrested after an FBI informant delivered an explosive powder that authorities believed was the last component in making pipe bombs. The charges carry up to 40 years in prison upon conviction.

Rubin, who by his own account has been arrested more than 40 times, joined the JDL early in the 1970s and quickly moved up, becoming chairman in 1985.