Burt Pugach
Burton N. Pugach (April 20, 1927 – December 24, 2020) was a New York City lawyer who spent 14 years in prison for hiring men to throw lye in the face of his former girlfriend, Linda Eleanor Riss (February 23, 1937 – January 22, 2013), whom he would later marry.
Pugach began pursuing Linda Riss in 1959. She was 21 and from the East Bronx. When she learned he was already married with a daughter, she ended the relationship. Pugach then threatened to kill or hurt her if she left, saying, “If I can’t have you, no one else will have you.” Riss told the police, but they did not act.
After she became engaged to Larry Schwartz, Pugach hired three men to attack her. They threw lye in her face, leaving her blind in one eye, nearly blind in the other, and badly scarred.
Pugach was convicted and spent 14 years in prison, during which time he kept writing to Riss. He was later disbarred because of his felony conviction.
After his release in 1974, Pugach and Riss resumed their relationship and soon married. In 1976 they co-wrote a book, A Very Different Love Story.
In 1997 Pugach was again accused of threatening a woman with whom he was having an affair. Riss testified at his trial as a character witness.
Riss died of heart failure on January 22, 2013, at the age of 75.
In 2007 Dan Klores produced a documentary called Crazy Love about Pugach and Riss. Pugach died on December 24, 2020, in Queens.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:32 (CET).