Loneliness, conspiracy theories and a sense of loss appear to have driven the troubled man to self-immolate this week across the street from the courthouse where former President Donald Trump is on trial.
The final fatal act was a tragic denouement in Max Azzarello’s life. Max Azzarello was described by his friends as intelligent and kind, but was somewhat depressed and still reeling from the death of his mother, whom he followed when she moved to Florida for several years in 2022. Was. Before.
Azzarello, 37, grew up in the small village of Seacliff on Long Island’s North Shore and followed his parents to Florida.
“He was the greatest person I ever met in my life and I adored him,” said Jamie Black, 63, of Seacliff. He was a friend of Max’s late mother, Libby, and had known him since he was eight years old.
“He was amazing and one of my closest friends. I’m devastated.”
A source familiar with Azzarello said Azzarello was initially prescribed antidepressants along with Adderall and only recently began taking amphetamines.
Azzarello is “almost too smart,” Black said.
“I once said to him, ‘Maybe you have schizophrenia,’ but he didn’t,” Black said.
“He was very caring, kind and cheerful and grew up in a wonderful family. I don’t think he had a mental illness. I think he was too smart.”
Daniel Carlton, a lifelong friend of Azzarello, who went to middle school and high school with him and roomed with him for four years at UNC-Chapel Hill, said he always had mental health issues.
“There may have been a chemical imbalance exacerbated by drug abuse, but there was no specific diagnosis,” he said.
Azzarello was lonely, Carlton said. He added that Azzarello was straight and did not appear to have ever had a girlfriend.
However, he was very close to his younger sister Catherine, 38, who lived in Brooklyn.
“He’s been very smart ever since he was in middle school,” Carlton told the Post.
“He was a good man and always political.”
“He was lonely for a long time, and I think that was the main cause of his decline,” he added.
“His family is amazing. They knew he had problems and admitted him to a mental health facility last year, but they couldn’t keep him beyond three days in detention. .”
“Max was smart enough to cheat the system and deceive the system. In fact, the mental health system failed him.”
Carlton said Azzarello’s condition worsened in early 2023, not long after his mother died.
By the end of 2022, he has quit a series of well-paid technology consulting jobs.
When news broke in March 2023 that Silicon Valley Bank suddenly collapsed, Azzarello was obsessed.
The 40-year-old financial institution, which lends to startups and venture capitalists, was abruptly shut down by regulators, making it the second-biggest banking casualty in U.S. history.
Billionaire Peter Thiel had urged startups to withdraw their cash or risk losing it all ahead of the bank’s collapse.
“He somehow connected Teal to all of this and went down this huge rabbit hole and started posting crazy conspiracies,” Carlton said.
“By 2023, drugs were out of control.”
Azzarello was arrested three times in Florida last year, including for allegedly throwing wine at a framed Bill Clinton sign, according to police records.
He was jailed on August 21 and remained in custody until October 3, when he was sentenced to 180 days of probation and released.
“He was passionate about the way government and corporate elites oppressed ordinary people and wanted to fight it. He wanted to start a revolution and took it upon himself to get his message across. He was willing to light a fire.”
Carlton said Azzarello had been sober since entering prison.
Azzarello posted a post praising Aaron Bushnell, a young airman who self-immolated outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., last month.
Like many of his friends, Carleton wanted Azzarello to be remembered for his good side.
Carlton said Azzarello was considered an elite online chess player, with a maximum rating of over 2,000 points and in the 96th percentile of online chess players.
“We were playing chess on a chess app. Our last match was two weeks ago and he beat me. I’m a pretty good player,” Carlton said.
“So you know he was still thinking rationally.”
If you live in New York City and are struggling with suicidal thoughts or experiencing a mental health crisis, call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. I can. If you live outside the five boroughs, dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or visit the link below. SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
