Every time he took me on a trip, he just delighted in these, these big, over the top, elaborate surprises. He traveled to Illinois to operate on a Korean toddler who was born without a trachea and who was going to be the youngest person to ever receive an artificial one. 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. In 2019, she produced the Oxygen doc Seduced By Evil, which chronicles another con-man, Derek Alldred. And he actually said his barber in uh the south of Russia, he, he managed to find this excellent, excellent barber in Kazan there where he performed his Russian experiments, brilliant guy. She found out exactly what hed lied about - and she said it was extensive. Alexander then married, Edson Jeune, a ballroom dancer. And they kind of laughed. These were made in a lab out of the very same plastic that a soda bottle is made out of, and then he would bathe this in the patient's own stem cells in something called a bioreactor, and then transplant that, this plastic windpipe into people. "He [the Pope] wanted to use us as the poster couple for the Catholic church, to prove people who are divorced can get married in the Catholic church.". [00:42:58] Bob: If you have been targeted by a scam or fraud, you are not alone. Benita met and married a fellow reporter, John Noel, and moved with him to New York, where they welcomed their daughter in 2003. Benita Alexander, an award-winning documentary television producer and single mother, shares her story in ABC's "The Con." ABC News At the time, Macchiarini was employed by the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Sweden. "I couldn't fall apart because I am a single mother with a daughter who needs me. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. [00:01:28] Benita: I grew up in Australia, and I had an uncle, my mother's brother, who worked for Radio Free Europe. And so it was kind of the perfect case for us to focus our story around. I was, I was conflicted about it. And he was putting artificial tracheas, the windpipe, into patients. She soon discovered that as she lived an apparent fairy tale romance -- with someone who not only seemed to care for her and her daughter but also lavished her with expensive gifts and trips -- others were already searching for the truth about Macchiarini. [00:25:58] Bo Lindquist: I think he liked the challenge. And I literally, I was really like, what? He was incredibly generous with them as well. Cetir's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of the plastic tube used in Macchiarini's procedure. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly [00:35:53] Bob: And while the dresses are being made, while the other wedding preparations are underway, Matthew meets Paolo. And you know, dozens of roses and champagne and always the best champagne. I don't know if I was nervous. And so we were looking into this field, and we found this doctor. I was like, 'What is happening to Benita,'" Alexander's friend, Marian Fontana, said. After sweeping Alexander off her feet by taking her to jet-setting and romantic locales all over the world for months, Macchiarini proposed. Where is Benita Alexander now? You know, we should do this to help Pope Francis, we should do this to help the Catholic church, and so it was almost like an obligation. And it was so fun to work with, with all of them, you know, anybody that, and they have private appointments that wanted to come in. Um, and so he had, we were coming back into the room after dinner one night, and I was kind of teasing him. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Together, they'd spend long weekends traveling to different countries, like Mexico, Russia and Greece. Um, (laugh) I was uh, in my 40s. As these events were unfolding, Maccharini allowed Lindquist to follow him for a documentary film. [00:35:38] Bob: I mean it sounds like that could cost an infinity if you wanted it to. Claiming he was in demand. And Benita had a veil, and I brought over some dresses, and we were having some champagne, giggling and sketching, and it was so fun. [00:26:12] Bob: So while Bo follows Paolo around the world learning more about the miraculous procedures he is performing, Hannah's Story finally airs on NBC. Benita Alexander is an American television producer, director, writer, and reporter. And it was, it was things like this all the time. They make it for you in the lab, right. People could be dying because of this man, and therefore, I couldn't stay silent, I couldn't crawl under the covers. All Bo knew was that Paolo was very charming. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. It defeats the point, Benita recently said. "That's when he told me that there was this kind of clandestine network [of doctors] who are on call, basically, for these people.'". Macchiarini did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. If your response is to point a finger at a victim, thats really sad. But, she said he was in a "foul mood" the entire time they were there as he dealt with the continuing fallout from the allegations. She later tied the knot with a ballroom instructor Edson Jeune in 2012, yet even that didnt work out. I was torn up about it, and my last day at NBC was in May of 2015. In September 2020, Swedish prosecutors announced charges against Macchiarini for aggravated assault in connection to three surgeries that he had performed at the Karolinska University Hospital, including Cetir's. Be sure to find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. The emotions of the moment overwhelm her. "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. [00:12:41] Bob: And you went forward with that weekend pushing the feeling aside, right? [00:37:05] Benita: Everything was very, very secretive, and because the Pope was doing this, um, and Paolo told me that the Vatican would not even announce it until the day of our wedding so that the news didn't leak out. Paolo showers Benita with affection. And we finally decided that we would live in Barcelona. 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.". And she meets Christopher at his shop. ID gives the viewer the opportunity to experience this along with Benita the highs and the lows and to discover, along with her, howhe lied about everything, says Henry Schleiff, Group President of Investigation Discovery, Destination America and American Heroes Channel in a press release about the documentary. [00:00:34] Welcome back to The Perfect Scam. I didn't, you know, how do you, how do you not ask any questions, but all my friends convinced me, they said, "You know, Benita, you know he has amazing taste. Macchiarini has not yet entered a plea, but has denied all of the charges. "I, to this day, have no idea why he lied about our entire relationship.". Macchiarini proposed to Benita Alexander on Christmas Day 2013, Alexander said. I want, I just want to get the job done. [00:31:56] Bob: Benita sees a dress made by Christopher in a New York City store, but it isn't quite right. You will be asked to register or log in. That's next week on The Perfect Scam. When Benita discovers that her fiance is not who he claims to be, she goes on an emotional journey to unravel a trail of destruction that leaves patients dead and their shattered families in shock. Benita Alexander is an award-winning television producer who is known for her won on Investigation Discoverys ID Now, Crimes Gone Viral, Dateline and Inside the Obama White House among other works. And her parents were just distraught, you know, they wanted, they had been told she might live 6 or 7 years, and there's no cure. [00:04:24] Benita: Right, yeah, and they're not always happy endings, and you do, you, unfortunately, you know, you report on a lot of very, very difficult things in news. And Hillary Clinton got involved, different people in Congress got involved, but ultimately, after many trips back and forth to Brazil and a lot of emotion, he got his son home. And whatever that is, let's, let's push that away, you know. We had 300+ people coming from all over the world. This story is extremely personal and difficult for me to share, but the journalist in me couldnt let it be, Alexander says in the release. He says to me, "I want to take over the wedding planning and I want to surprise you with everything. Most importantly, though, we need to mention that Benita not only attended the former doctor/her former fiancs trial in Sweden, but she also covered it as a correspondent for season 3 of the Dr. She was devasted to learn all the lies told by Macchiarini. It's a very aggressive form of brain cancer. I mean my, I mean my jaw was on the floor. I had butterflies or something like some, some kind of electric spark went through my body, and I, my immediate thought was, what in the heck is that? Instead, he says their underlying health conditions were fatal and may have been a factor in their deaths. Benita has become a recognized love conned expert and along with speaking engagements, she is a regular guest correspondent on "The Dr. Oz Show." Which clearly would completely change the face of, of medicine and, you know, all these people that been told they have no hope or no chance, it, it would be, it would be a gamechanger, right. This was worldwide. [00:11:55] Bob: And how old were you then? And basically giving up everything. Um, which is just something I never thought I would do, you know. Nobody, except my closest friends and family, knew about the Pope because we weren't allowed to talk about it, but they knew that was a big VIP wedding. But unfortunately, her personal life has been marred by a turbulent childhood in Huntington Woods, Michigan, and a series of unsuccessful relationships. For more compelling true crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard. So it was scary. I was so career-driven, and so career-oriented, but I was madly in love. And I just thought, okay, you've got some stupid little schoolgirl crush on this doctor, which is absurd. Her film "He Lied About Everything," about her own personal story with a con man, aired on Investigation Discovery in 2018 and continues to air around the world. She'd been in the intensive care unit in Turkey for three years, and her health was still deteriorating. After relocating to New York, Benita worked for NBC and was featured in NBC's documentary "A Leap of Faith" in 2013. And a very, very good listener and was giving me very wise, sage advice, you know, about all these questions; what to tell her, how to tell her, and I was sort of soaking it all up, and I was very touched by the fact that this man seemed so incredibly altruistic. Wake up to the real world! She reflected on their relationship and wondered how she could've missed all the red flags. [00:12:46] Benita: Oh yeah, no, I immediately just sort of shoved it down and thought whatever that was, it was, it was silly, and uh, let's forget about that. He worked at the place that awards the Nobel Prize in Medicine, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden. "I put it all in a message. Subtle message to him, perhaps. I loved my life at NBC. It basically was, we've been asked to do this, and by virtue of being my fianc, because I'm this famous doctor, I feel that this is something we should do. Who lost her dad. He had told her, as personal surgeon to the Pope, the leader of the Catholic church wanted to marry the couple, she explained. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? Macchiarini took Alexander to several romantic getaways in Europe. But there was something, yeah, something happened between us the, the moment we met. (Pasadena, Calif.) - This Valentine's Day, Investigation Discovery (ID) presents a love story gone wrong with HE LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING, the astonishing true tale of the love affair between award-winning investigative news producer Benita Alexander, and the brilliant, world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini.What started as a picture-perfect dream relationship between two people at the . Hearings are expected to begin in 2022. He seemed that way in his work as well, but here he is talking to me and spending all this time listening to me and seemed very vested in this little girl that he had never met. Benita is still wearing the second ring throughout the documentary! Powered by WordPress.com VIP. This is a surgeon. Her new podcast "Benita and the Berracas," will feature Benita talking to other women who open up to her about their own love conned stories, along with advice on how to avoid becoming a victim. The couple had the wedding planned for July 2015. The way he used stem cells with his plastic tracheas would eventually develop into something quite extraordinary where you could use stem cells to target organs or other areas of the body where the, where there was a medical problem. Macchiarini proposed to Alexander on Christmas Day in 2013. She is also the CEO of Berraca Productions, a company she founded to further her advocacy work empowering women who are the survivors of fraud. And that frees up Benita to go public about their relationship. Well actually, dresses. In 2015, Alexander sent emails to the Karolinska Institute expressing concerns about the acclaimed surgeon. And it's a beautiful building, and it just has this feeling about it, you know, as you, it's a very special feeling too. I loved everything about it, and to be sort of plunging into the unknown, even though I felt very secure with Paolo, happily in love. The procedure uses the framework of a plastic tube lined with the patient's stem cells and is intended to help them replicate into a healthy version of the failing organ. With the celebrations set to last four days, Alexander had her dress designer make four different gowns. When a magical romance with a world-renowned surgeon develops into a nightmare, his fianc uncovers a path of destruction that leaves dead patients and shattered families in its wake. Benita Alexander, an award-winning documentary TV producer and Paolo Macchiarini fall in love after meeting in 2013 while she is working on a story about the surgeon's pioneering w Show more. He was listed as one of . Benita and Macchiarini's wild relationship was featured in a special episode of ABC's 20/20 on Friday. And then John Legend was supposed to be playing piano in the church. Then, just before New Year's Eve, he left the U.S., telling Alexander that he had a "really important surgery" to perform. On the back of his motorcycle, he drove her along the Illinois River until they found a place where she could memorialize her ex-husband. [00:31:35] Matthew Christopher: Yeah, it is a special process. She said she called the castle where all the guests were supposed to be staying and asked them about the reservation, which they didn't have. Learn how vehicle tech like blind spot warnings and drowsy driving alerts can help make driving safer. [00:35:21] Bob: It does sound like the kind, I mean we were talking about what, 10 gowns? In the course of that operation, the surgeons had nicked her trachea. Benita Alexander has been working as a Macchiarini at NBC News. See production, box office & company info, Fatal Experiments: The Downfall of a Supersurgeon. 5. And after he left, I said to my parents, that's what I'm going to do when I grow up. Cetir died waiting for the lung transplant she desperately needed. The procedure uses the framework of a plastic tube lined with the patient's stem cells and is intended to help them replicate into a healthy version of the . He's Catholic. Her mother was Korean, and her dad, Canadian. My daughter who, you know, has been through a lot. And I was raised Episcopalian, but I said, "I know, I know enough about the Catholic religion to know that no priest is going to marry two divorcees," and he, he, you know, he said, "Don't worry. [00:41:50] Benita: The day after I quit my job, I got an email from a colleague and the headline just said, "The Pope." And I had seen paperwork that he had done work at the Vatican, consulting work. Anyone that knows anything about private schools in New York knows how hard that is. How to, what do we do now? Benita Alexander is a producer, director, writer, and narrator, who has actually been behind several episodes of IDs Now, Dateline, and even Inside the Obama White House. 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