Remember all the you-know-what that hit the fan in December, after a story was, well, I would say “placed” with the New York Times — concerning a certain New York hedge fund? That fund, Pardus Capital, just happened to have positions in both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. And guess what the head of this hedge fund, Karim Samii, was writing in a letter to the management of said airlines?

Yep. You guessed it. He wrote, expressing his frustration at the fact that the two airlines had not yet consummated a merger agreement. The letter got heavy media attention.

As I said at the time, I wasn’t sure what planet this guy had been hanging out on, but there was not going to be a Delta/United deal. Period.

Fast forward to late yesterday, and guess what?

Pardus Group has stopped investor redemptions from its fund. Translation? If they have any of your money — you can’t get it.

“The actions we have taken will allow us to protect the funds and their investors from the external short-term pressure of the broader financial markets,” New York-based Pardus Capital Management LP said in an e-mailed statement. “The funds have been disproportionately affected by recent market volatility.”

The fund’s  holdings in United and Delta are rather small, compared to some of Pardus’ other holdings, including those in General Motors, Ford Motor Company’s  former division, the Visteon Corp., and Paris-based Valeo, an auto parts manufacturer.