narrator: did your sister get better after the surgery? no, she got progressively worse after the surgery. narrator: by thanksgiving, just six weeks after her surgery with weinberger, phyllis barnes was gasping for breath. repeated follow-up visits to weinberger s clinic brought no relief. her family feared she might have pneumonia. sean barnes: i had to call the ambulance one night to have her taken to the emergency room because she couldn t breathe. narrator: sean barnes, phyllis daughter, was only 16 at the time. she did end up pulling through, but it was a hard time to get through. within days of leaving the emergency room, phyllis was again gasping for breath. so in december 2001, she turned to another ear, nose and throat doctor for relief. the new doctor immediately suspected something serious. her breathing was ragged and a large lump was visible on the side of her neck.
don t ask. exactly. rob stafford: still, monica says the relationship became serious enough that she introduced him to her parents, who were quite taken by this sophisticated american. with my parents, talked about economy, talked about experience, the mountain, philosophy. philosophy? philosophy, yeah. camus. rob stafford: camus? philosophy a tantalizing clue, perhaps, but only for someone familiar with the life story of a certain free-spending, philosophy-loving fugitive doctor from america. philosophy, after all, had always been a pet passion of mark weinberger s, but that tidbit meant nothing to monica specogna. she d never even heard of mark weinberger. all she knew was that this man, this mark stern loved her. monica: from the first day, was a really good man with me, with me, with my people, my family, with my friends,
rob stafford: weinberger s lawyer presented witnesses who said that phyllis barnes s cancer was probably not even detectable when she first visited dr. weinberger. in fact, their lawyers said there were other medical professionals, such as the emergency room doctors, who d also seen phyllis barnes at about the same time and failed to detect her throat cancer. suzette: i would ask people just to look at it from more than just one side. rob stafford: interestingly, suzette dennington, perhaps mark weinberger s most passionate defender, was not called to testify. suzette: he advertised just as a sinus specialist. patients called him based on knowing or suspecting that they had sinus problems. why is it unusual that he confirms that, yes, indeed, you have that condition? and why would he not offer them a surgical solution to their conditions? rob stafford: weinberger s attorney closed his case by reminding the jury the case before them only concerned dr. weinberger s treatment of one patie
i love you, baby. michelle: i love you, baby. rob stafford: persuade patients to trust him. i was very impressed with him. rob stafford: and make even seasoned cops believe he was harmless. he looked quite happy. rob stafford: whatever it was, the eyes that stared out from front pages after mark weinberger s capture still had the power to move even those he d left behind. suzette: the look in the eyes is a look i ve never seen from him, that i would have never expected to see on his face. and that when you care about somebody, and you see that kind of look, it can t help but touch you. rob stafford: suzette dennington, who was once mark weinberger s top medical assistant, was one of the few willing to say a kind word about him as his legal troubles mounted. nothing is ever as cut and dry as you believe it is. rob stafford: according to dennington, weinberger was a fine doctor, who was simply being attacked by former patients and their lawyers, because the salacious tabloid aspects of
not far from the swiss border, that our story takes its most intriguing turn. two years after mark weinberger slipped off that yacht in the greek islands, a mysterious american rolled into the alpine village of courmayeur, making a lasting impression with his money. courmayeur crouches in the shadow of majestic mont blanc, europe s highest peak on italy s side of the border with switzerland. it s quaint and remote. wealthy tourists are drawn to the slopes for the skiing in winter and mountain climbing in warmer months. at night, they fill the local bars, cafes, and restaurants. all of it providing the perfect cover for anyone who wants to live well without standing out. call it st. moritz without the glitz. do you forget how spectacular this is when you live here? you can t. you can t because it s very, very spectacular.