David Joel Friedland (December 20, 1937 – April 21, 2022) was an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Hudson County, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1966 to 1974 and then was elected to the Senate, serving from 1978 until his conviction on racketeering charges in 1980.
While awaiting sentencing, Friedland disappeared in September 1985 by faking his death in a supposed drowning incident off Grand Bahama. He was one of the U.S. government's most wanted fugitives until his capture in the Maldives in 1987, where he drew attention to himself after creating a successful chain of scuba diving shops.