Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares" Chef Found Floating in Hudson

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS/AP) A New Jersey chef, who was once told on TV by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay that his debt-ridden restaurant was "about to f---king swim down the Hudson," has jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge.

New York City police say the body of 39-year-old Joseph Cerniglia was found floating in the Hudson River on Friday. Cerniglia owned Campania in Fair Lawn, N.J.

The cause of death is still under investigation, but "no criminality" is suspected.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, police responded to a 911 call of a body floating in the river, not long after another caller reported seeing a man jump from the George Washington Bridge.

In 2007, Cemiglia's restaurant was featured on Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares." On the show, Cemiglia described "overwhelming'' personal debt and estimated he owed purveyors about $80,000. The British host told him "Your business is about to f---king swim down the Hudson."

Cerniglia is the former executive chef for the New York-based Gallagher's Steakhouse chain.

He is the second former contestant on a Ramsay television show to reportedly commit suicide. Rachel Brown, who came in fifth in 2006 in Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" cooking competition, shot herself to death in her family's Dallas home in 2007.