She reflected on their relationship and wondered how she could've missed all the red flags. [15][16] Also in October, Sweden's Expert Group on Scientific Misconduct found evidence of research fraud by Macchiarini and his co-authors in six papers and called for them to be retracted. The inquiry tells a story of deception, . We met in February 2013 when I worked for NBC and he was the subject of a TV special about how he had developed the science of artificial trachea transplants. After discovering his marriage, she broke the engagement and called off the wedding. I couldn't fall apart because if he's lying to me like this, there's no way he's not lying in his medical and professional life.". ________ #romance #tindernightmares #love #lovefail #nightmarerelationships #relationshipfail #relationships #marriage #marriagefail, A post shared by Benita Alexander (@loveconned) on Mar 27, 2019 at 9:02am PDT. The Pope's spokesman said that the Pope had no "personal doctor" named Macchiarini, knew nobody of that name, and would not have officiated. When television producer Benita covers him for a story, he'll transform her life too, but not in the ways she expects. A year later, it was announced that he had been negligent in all the cases, but that a crime could not be proven because the patients might have died anyway. [29]:9 The next year the implant collapsed and Macchiarini replaced it with a second one. But that September, I had surgery for uterine fibroids. Paolo was arrested in 2012, and after this he was set free from any charges against him. When I threw it into the river, I recalled the brief phone conversation when I spoke to him for my upcoming documentary. The audio series covers the accusations of ethical misconduct and manipulation in Macchiarini's medical work alongside those of his personal deceit in his affair with Alexander, told through a series of interviews with the latter. "He and I started going to dinners and I was kind of pouring my heart out. We've received your submission. He claimed internal politics were rife at the Vatican and the popes progressive plan had been undermined. When I contacted the Italian castle where he had supposedly booked guest rooms, nobody there knew Paolos name. Of course the castle staff wouldnt tell you anything, he said. It said he'd be in South America and that the "trip had been planned for quite some time," Alexander said. While Benita was working with Paolo for the story, she fell in love with him. Paolo proposed on Christmas Day, 2013, with a $100,000 diamond ring. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2021 ChandigarhFirst.com - Public Newspaper. We do not know if they live together or are in contact with each other. She also makes sure that her children do not get involved in this by any means. Macchiarini didn't respond to requests for a comment. She gathered peoples attention because of her husband. [45][46] The Lancet, which published Macchiarini's work, also published an article defending him. Meanwhile, the doctors were still trying to save Cetir's life. "The outcry was such that the Karolinska Institute had to do something," said Ritchie. Eventually, she died. In Episode 202. They are jealous.. But Macchiarini showered her in flowers and jewelry. I will plan everything else.. [19] He was an assistant professor at UniPi from 1990 to 1992. [26], In 2010, Macchiarini implanted a seeded donated trachea in a woman in Russia, while working with surgeon Vladimir Parshin. Everything we know about her is there in this article.I hope this article helped you to know more about her. Soon, I learned that Paolo was still married to his wife of 29 years and living in Barcelona with a second woman and two young children. The case is under appeal, and he is still licensed to practice medicine in Europe. [7] Articles in Vanity Fair and Aftonbladet further suggested that he had falsified some of his academic credentials on rsums. [4], On 29 September 2020, Mikael Bjork, director of Public Prosecution in Sweden indicted an unnamed surgeon on charges of aggravated assault. Instead, he says their underlying health conditions were fatal and may have been a factor in their deaths. [25] The boy was born with a 1mm diameter trachea, and efforts to widen it had caused life-threatening complications. Il chirurgo ha negato di aver commesso qualsiasi illecito penale. I want him to look around that courtroom and see the families of the patients whose lives he destroyed, and see my face and at last be forced for whatever few seconds to look us all in the eye and maybe understand what he did," Alexander said. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, then a professor of Regenerative Medicine at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm (Sweden), looks on during a plenary session at the Science of the Future international scientific conference, on September 17, 2014. It has led to extensive reform work internally at KI in order to improve and clarify a number of regulations and routines.". The Italian surgeon and his Italian wife Emanuela Pecchia have one son and one daughter. In 2016, Paolo was under investigation by Swedish prosecutors on suspicion of manslaughter and grievous bodily harm related to three patient deaths in that country. [70], In June 2016 Swedish police opened an investigation into whether Macchiarini might have committed involuntary manslaughter. "That's when he told me that there was this kind of clandestine network [of doctors] who are on call, basically, for these people.'". I did not think that by pulling that thread, we would completely undo the sweater.". Since her romance with Paolo imploded in 2015, the brunette beauty has continued working on documentaries and docuseries'. Macchiarini had told her that he and his wife were separated, but that the divorce hadn't yet been finalized legally. In response to Gerdin's report, Macchiarini denied all the findings. [19] He had an honorary appointment as a Visiting Professor from 2009 to 2014, at University College London. Since April 2017, Yesim's family (or in US legalese, the Estate of Yasim Cetir) is suing the company Harvard Bioscience, which spin-off Biostage (in turn formerly known as Harvard Apparatus) produced the bioreactors and the second plastic trachea graft used by Macchiarini on Yesim. But as per reports, her net worth is close to a million dollars. Offers may be subject to change without notice. [13][26] He died later the same year. .This week we are joined by Benita Alexander, the former NBC producer who's fairytale romance with the so called 'super surgeon' Dr Paolo Macchiarini turned out to be all lies, a scam.. 01:11:55. ET on ABC. [13][26] The implant failed and was replaced, and as of 2017 Onogda was still alive. Emanuela Pecchiam. There is also no information related to her parents, siblings, their location, or what they do.Coming to her education, she is a well-educated woman. [29]:8 In this case, Macchiarini collaborated with scientists at University College London to manufacture a fully synthetic trachea, with an engineered scaffold seeded with Beyene's marrow cells, instead of using a donated and stripped trachea, as it had been done before. More details emerged: Seven of the eight patients who. Paolo Macchiarini was born in Switzerland to Italian parents and has spoken of having had a difficult childhood in Basel, where by his own account he felt like a perpetual outsider in school.. "It said that he had a normal functioning airway," Corbascio said. Today, the renowned university announced that Macchiarini will be dismissed effective immediately after its disciplinary board found that he "engaged in conduct and research that is incompatible with a . - Benita Alexander on Being Duped by the . Benita is sharing the story of how Paolo deceived her in the first episode of the ABC series, The Con. The university even cited some of the whistleblowers, reprimanding them for their participation in some of Macchiarini's papers. [19], Later in 2010, Macchiarini was appointed as a visiting professor at the Karolinska Institute (KI) in Stockholm and as a part-time position as surgeon at the affiliated university hospital. In mid-2013, they became a couple and in December that year they became 'pre-engaged' as Macchiarini, who lived in Barcelona, Spain, said he was still legally married with two children but had. [29]:9 In 2016 she underwent multiple organ transplants in the U.S., and her trachea was replaced with one from a cadaver. We were apart for two months. Her height is 5 feet 8 inches. I have been into Content writing for the past 2 years and enjoy producing content. Sarah Deen Monday 23 Aug 2021 10:00 am. "That wasn't true. Dr. Death: Miracle Man premieres everywhere from August 16 including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and the Wondery app. He did this by chemically stripping away the cells of a windpipe. I think he needs to be behind bars. [13], In June 2014, Macchiarini implanted a fully synthetic seeded trachea in Dmitri Onogda at the Kuban State Medical University. "She had suffered at least two strokes; she had lost much of her vision, so she was partially blind; she couldn't walk," Pinto said. "The surgeons in Turkey tried to repair it and there were some complications," said Rosemary Pinto, a personal injury lawyer later hired by Cetir's family. Award-winning documentary-maker Benita Alexander was swept off her feet by renowned Italian doctor Paolo Macchiarini in 2013 while she was working on a story about his pioneering medical work. [2][3] He has been convicted of research-related crimes in Italy and Sweden. Im not a believer in love at first sight. In his employment as a doctor at KS, Paolo Macchiarini has performed surgery on three patients, namely Andemarian Beyene, Chris Lyles and Yesim Cetir. [14], Also in June 2012, Macchiarini implanted a second synthetic seeded trachea on Alexander Zozulya, who also had a tracheostomy resulting from a car accident and whose life was not in danger. Its embarrassing, but I was taken in by Paolo. Andrea Bocelli and John Legend would perform at the wedding. While much of the scientific community was eager to believe he had made breakthroughs, not everyone was convinced. How rich is Vanna White's ex-husband - George Sant. I called a private investigator the moment he left. My ex-husband the father of my daughter, then 9 was dying of brain cancer. As a journalist, Alexander knew she couldn't get involved with the subject of her story. "Going public opens you up to all the hateful trolls and naysayers who take sick joy in mocking and taking stabs at you from behind the anonymity of their computers.". Information Index: Trachea Transplants and Paolo Macchiarini, M.D. In a 500-page complaint filed in 2014 that detailed their allegations, the doctors accused Macchiarini of promoting a medical procedure that showed few signs of success while endangering the lives of his patients. Bjork said he reopened the investigation in December 2018 and obtained new written evidence and interviewed individuals in five different countries. Emanuela Pecchia is popular because she is the wife of Paolo Macchiarini. Paolo is a smart and handsome surgeon, renowned for his ability to perform surgeries that transform his patients' lives. He even got engaged to Benita. The board called for all six of the papers to be retracted. TOP 3%. Born in 1977, this Colombian living in Spain woman suffered from tuberculosis-damaged airways. Celebs Wiki Paolo Macchiarini fans also viewed: Ziri Rideaux Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Craig Tornberg Mizinga Melu Sean Nienow The married couple; Paolo and Emanuela are also proud parents of two childrens\kids (a daughter and a son). In May 2015, two months before the wedding, it all imploded. He is considered a skilled surgeon and researcher in rehabilitation medicine. I fell deeply in love with this man and had no idea I was in the midst of being conned. For her graduation, she did her Bachelors program from US State University. [19] Macchiarini was an investigator at the Institut d'Investigacions Biomdiques-Instituto de Investigaciones Biomdicas in Barcelona, Spain, from 2006 to 2009; he was affiliated with but not an employee of the University of Barcelona and was apparently an employee at the Hospital Clnic de Barcelona during this time. August 2, 2021. She was born in Italy. Swedish news agency TT said the indicted surgeon was Paolo Macchiarini. Sought after worldwide, people believed Macchiarini would one day revolutionize the field of organ transplantation, journalist Bo Lindquist said. Benita has also worked on sharing her own story with the public, and it was the subject of the 2018 documentary He Lied About Everything. We sent out Save the Dates. Vladimir Putin was on the list, since Paolo was doing a medical trial in Russia funded by their government. She was born and raised in Italy and met Paolo in Italy itself, and the couple got married there. Here, the Brooklynite tells Jane Ridley how her ex, Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, left behind a trail of deception and death. He was insistent on a Catholic service, even though we were both divorcees. While Macchiarini admitted that the synthetic trachea did not work in the current state, he did not agree that trying it on several additional patients without further testing had been inappropriate. He reportedly assured her he'd be divorced prior to the wedding, and she. How to say Dr. Paolo Macchiarini in English? In the course of that operation, the surgeons had nicked her trachea. [6] Macchiarini has been accused of unethically performing experimental surgeries, even on relatively healthy patients, resulting in fatalities for seven of the eight patients who received one of his synthetic trachea transplants. By the time he performed the artificial trachea transplant on Cetir, he had already performed the same procedure on four other patients. A new two-hour "20/20" reports on Benita Alexander, a television producer who fell head over heels in love with world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini while producing a report on his revolutionary new surgery technique. [71] After a one-year medico-legal investigation, the attorney general's office announced in October 2017 that Macchiarini had been negligent in four of the five cases investigated due to the use of devices and procedures not supported by evidence, but that a crime could not be proven because the patients might have died under any other treatment given. Over the course of two years, the pair would get engaged, and Paolo would promise her a wedding officiated by none other than his patient, Pope Francis. Paolo Macchiarini's most notable patient is Claudia Castillo. Lindquist's three-part documentary series "The Experiments" began airing just over a week after the damning Vanity Fair article was published in early January 2016. As Alexander began to unravel the web of lies Macchiarini had told her, she began to wonder if the world-renowned thoracic surgeon had also misled people in his professional life. Some even believed he'd win a Nobel Prize one day, according to author Stuart Ritchie. This article covers information about Emanuela Pecchia, her bio, age, husband, early life, education, and much more. Macchiarini and Benita quickly started planning an extravagant wedding, she said. (Credit: ITAR-TASS Photo Agency / Alamy Stock Photo) Keep Reading Eve Herold The Secret Service and the Swiss Guard are involved because of all the VIPs. He then claimed that his surgeon status was a cover for him being a CIA operative. Hundreds of Benita Alexander's friends and family had already bought their plane tickets to Italy to attend her extravagant wedding that was supposed to be officiated by the pope when it all came crashing down in a flurry of her fianc's deception. Emanuela Pecchia is popular because she is the wife of Paolo Macchiarini. May 17, 2022. Emanuela Pecchia is best known as the wife of a popular Swiss-born Italian Thoracic surgeon, Paolo Macchiarini. At the time, I was in a vulnerable state. Macchiarini had told her that he and his wife were separated, but that the divorce hadn't yet been finalized legally. Although her family said the injury wasn't serious enough to necessitate a tracheal transplant, she still underwent the procedure and went on to experience tremendous pain. The article's author, journalist Adam Ciralsky, had also uncovered fabrications in Macchiarini's professional life, and he documented a number of examples of Macchiarini misrepresenting his medical training and work history. This was all about Emanuela Pecchia and her husband. Her colleague had sent an article that said the pope would not be in Rome, or even Italy, on the day of their wedding. February 28, 2022 Emanuela Pecchia is famously known as the wife of popular Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon, Paolo Macchiarini. With the celebrations set to last four days, Alexander had her dress designer make four different gowns. Everything to Know About the Real Dirty John From Bravos New Drama, Chris Watts Bombed His Polygraph Test, and It Led to His Confession, Where Is Convicted Murderer Jeffrey MacDonald Now? I mean, I got this sort of chill through my body, like there was some sort of electric spark, and I remember, in my head, thinking, 'What the hell was that?'". "As furious as it makes me what he did [to me and] my daughter, the thought that this is a man who has people's lives in his hands. Their guest list, Alexander said, included Elton John, the Beckhams, the Obamas, the Clintons and Russell Crowe. He is well-known for his Fraud and manipulative behavior, but he has also been involved in any controversies. She gathered people's attention because of her husband. Although Macchiarini, a transplant surgeon born in Switzerland to Italian parents, is fending off charges of research misconduct at his university, he appears untroubled, even carefree, in this scene from Bosse Lindquist's documentary The Experiments. Among the high-powered clients who Macchiarini claimed were on this network were the Clintons, the Obamas and even Pope Francis. [19] He took a course on statistics in clinical research at University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1989. Her height is 5 feet 8 inches. I promise you, you are NOT " she continued in her caption. He was dying and Macchiarini became someone Alexander could lean on. "I wanted to get all the information that I could before I really confronted him.". She's worked closely with the Investigation Discovery (ID) network for ID Now, Still a Mystery (which she also narrates), and Crimes Gone Viral. His co-colleagues also accused him of his false claims in the research works involved in 2012.There are a lot of allegations against him. "I've long since learned to stand strong against all of that - for one, extremely important reason I'm now on a mission to help other women expose the men who've conned them, and to spread awareness about love cons and remove the stigma that continues to perpetuate that says you're stupid if you're a woman who falls for a con man. Hearings are expected to begin in 2022. But on the afternoon that she met him, a day before she was supposed to begin filming him, something happened that gave her pause. 1986 Paolo Macchiarini/Wife. "She was having problems with infections so, at that point, she came into contact with Dr. He was turning the dream of regenerative medicine into a reality. . [4][5], Previously considered a pioneer for using both biological and synthetic scaffolds seeded with patients' own stem cells as trachea transplants, Macchiarini was a Visiting Professor and Director on a temporary contract at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet (KI) from 2010. "It was the weirdest thing," Alexander said. It also said that all of the co-authors had committed scientific misconduct as well.[17]. Paolo Macchiarini, who made headlines for pioneering surgery, charged with aggravated assault over procedure AFP in Stockholm Wed 27 Apr 2022 10.38 EDT Last modified on Wed 27 Apr 2022 10.41 EDT He received a suspended sentence on 16 June 2022.[73][5]. [66][67][68], On 5 September 2016, the Swedish government moved to dismiss the entire board of the Institute. The supposed $100,000 diamond had a re-sale value of $1,000. Copyright 2023 ABC News Internet Ventures. Emanuela Pecchia presently resides in Italy, with her husband. [32] The trachea later collapsed, and was replaced; she died in 2014. [38], In 2014, Macchiarini was accused by four former colleagues and co-authors of having falsified claims in his research with KI. Hi, I am Tabassum, a Mass Com Graduate. The group eventually grew into four doctors, who compared the journal reports Macchiarini had published about his procedure -- all of which reported relatively positive results -- to the actual medical records of those patients. Read the full article if you want to know more about her. On what was supposed to be the day of her wedding, Alexander flew to Rome, where she eventually met others who'd kept their travel plans. Benita traveled to Paolo's Barcelona home with two friends and a video camera. [17] As of 2023, Macchiarini has had eight of his research papers retracted, and four others have received an expression of concern. Just find your dress. More details emerged: Seven of the eight patients who received one of his synthetic trachea transplants had died. Email my team at mystory@efranfilms.com so we can share your story and help other women. Macchiarini also stated that the synthetic trachea had been tested on animals before using it on humans, something that could not be verified. Paolo is 62 years old since 2020 and has worked in the medical profession for more than 10 years. "He comes around the corner, he looks right at me and in that second something happened. After splitting with Paolo Macchiarini, the documentary producer . It sounded like real-life science fiction: a 3-D printed organ, a groundbreaking artificial windpipe, built in a lab and [] [41][42][44], In August 2015, after considering the findings and a rebuttal provided by Macchiarini, KI vice-chancellor Anders Hamsten found that he had acted "without due care" but had not committed misconduct. When she continued to press Macchiarini about the pope, she said he blamed Vatican politics, alleging that the more conservative former Pope Benedict went behind Pope Francis' back to stop him from officiating the wedding. Programma di Stabilit dell'Italia 2016. (206) 2018 13+. He gave me really sage, solid, kind advice." When her ex-husband died, Macchiarini helped Alexander cope. Archivi. The district court in Solna today found Paolo Macchiarini not guilty on other charges, including aggravated assault, relating to three . During her investigation into Macchiarini, Alexander hired private investigators in the U.S. and Italy. [29]:9 Lyles died suddenly in 2012 after he had returned home; no autopsy was performed. She went on to say that it can truly happen to anyone. With Whoopi Goldberg filling the narrator's seat, the series kicks off with the story of Paolo Macchiarini, a former world-renowned thoracic surgeon now known for research fraud and his strange involvement with an unsuspecting producer by the name of Benita Alexander. I spent $10,000 on 300 embossed invitations wrapped in lambskin. It was at this point that Benita said she started to feel that something was not right. I confronted him the weekend of May 22, the last time I would ever see him. So now, if you wish to learn more about the latter's narrative as well as . While Macchiarini continued to deny any wrongdoing, he lost his job at the Institute and Swedish prosecutors began looking into whether his behavior was criminal. The story also called into question statements he had made on his CV. Allegations were also made that patients' medical conditions both before and after the operations, as reported in academic papers, did not match reality. Macchiarini shot to prominence back in 2008, when he created a new airway for Claudia Castillo, a young woman from Barcelona. Where is Benita Alexander now? She still lives in Italy and takes care of her children there. Who is Dr Paolo Macchiarini wife? He became more popular for his cunning personality, and fraudulent behavior in research works.Paolo is a popular Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon. Macchiarini asensi kahdeksalle potilaalle kehittmns synteettisen henkitorven vuosina 2011-2014. A contact she had to the Clintons told her they'd never heard of Macchiarini. In 2019, she produced the Oxygen doc Seduced By Evil, which chronicles another con-man, Derek Alldred. Zozulya died in February 2014 under unclear circumstances. Karrishma Kar Bio, Net Worth, Age & Wiki, Best Red Wine Brands Available in India with Price, Jagermeister Price in India Updated list 2022, Leonbet is the Best Betting Solution among Indian Players in 2023, 1Win India Betting Site and Online Casino, Melbet App in Bangladesh Review Play and Win, The Life and Times of Alfredo Barulli, an Instagram Influencer and PR Expert, Kids and Healthy Feeding: Top Tips for Parents. The next installment of the Wondery podcast series Dr. Death explores how Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini manipulated his patients and . "The woman in Barcelona was not his wife. Macchiarini had told Alexander that he was on a work trip in Russia, but when Alexander pulled up near his home, she said he was standing on the steps with his dog. Meanwhile, the investigation into Macchiarini's professional life was ramping up -- the Karolinska Institute was investigating whether he'd fabricated aspects of his medical research. [49][8] The article paints him as a serial fabulist, and as "the extreme form of a con man", remarking that "the fact that he could keep all the details straight and compartmentalize these different lives and lies is really amazing. [39] The following April, KI's ethics committee issued a response to one set of allegations with regard to research ethics and peer review at The Lancet, and found them to be groundless. He insisted on flying to New York from Europe and arrived at Lenox Hill Hospital with a single red rose, charming my mother as much as he charmed me. Journalist Benita Alexander's life was turned upside down by her relationship with surgeon Paolo Macchiarini (Picture: Benita Alexander/PA) A woman who . One day after I resigned from NBC to move to Paolos home in Barcelona, I got an e-mail from a friend a news story showing that Pope Francis would be in South America the same day as our wedding.