[00:39:38] Matthew Christopher: Yeah, I mean we were going through fittings, we were going through the process of um getting things together. The story with making a couture gown is, you know, it goes through, gosh, a team of pattern makers, drapers, um, stitchers, sewers, hand stitchers, beading and embroiderers, lace, and all that kind of stuff. Free online workshop! In her personal life, she's also looking for a medical miracle, a miracle that, well it wasn't going to come. I want, I just want to get the job done. She later tied the knot with a ballroom instructor Edson Jeune in 2012, yet even that didnt work out. "It was the weirdest thing," Alexander said. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. NBC News is pulling "A Leap of Faith" Meredith Vieira's documentary on controversial . Learn how to subscribe to AARP Podcasts on any device. [00:03:01] Benita: Yeah, one of the ones um, there was a father in New Jersey, whose wife had abducted their son to Brazil, parental abduction, which is when one parent takes the child, against the other parent's will to another country. "I wanted to get all the information that I could before I really confronted him.". I'm your host, Bob Sullivan. [00:35:25] Matthew Christopher: Um, gosh, 1-2-3 for her. Yeah. Star-Studded Wedding Becomes Brides Worst Nightmare, Part 1, Journalist exposes her celebrity fianc, part 2, Computer hacker drains couple's life savings. She hence became the executive producer of a documentary film entitled He Lied About Everything, which chronicled her emotional journey as well as his scientific lies. She works in Rockefeller Center and flies all around the world, and on one of these trip, she meets the man of her dreams. I want to focus on work. TV producer's romance with star surgeon begins against better judgment: Part 1Benita Alexander met Paolo Macchiarini while covering his pioneering work for a. "I couldn't fall apart because I am a single mother with a daughter who needs me. A successful TV journalist, the single mother-of-one was interviewing him for a report on cutting-edge medicine. Alexander said she never thought she'd be part of Macchiarini's life, particularly because he was a subject in her work. I mean, and we didn't know what to do. Oxygen.com interviews filmmaker and reporter Benita Alexander, an executive producer of the 90-minute documentary "Seduced by Evil," about con man Derek Alldred. Despite her work ethic, she fell in love with Macchiarini. He wrote love notes in lipstick on her mirror and left roses on the bed in the shape of hearts. Claiming he was in demand. How do we, how do we tell this story? She did what she had to but never let it take over her life, which in turn helped her graduate magna cum laude from Wayne State University in 1987. What to tell her. I had tried, at one point I pushed him away, and we didn't see each other for about three months. He has been convicted of research-related crimes in Italy and Sweden. Benita Alexander, and swept her off her feet with a marriage proposal and promises of a wedding . Perfect. Famous For Being an American actress and producer. [00:12:41] Bob: And you went forward with that weekend pushing the feeling aside, right? Lindquist said the documentary sparked outrage in Sweden, and weeks later, new investigations into Macchiarini began. It does make it difficult sometimes, because you, some stories are so heavy and so difficult, and I would sometimes, it would take me weeks sometimes to sort of shake a story, and people would sit with me, and their stories would sit with me for a long, long time. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? ABC News reported that Macchiarini has never spoken publicly about his relationship with Benita. Learn how vehicle tech like blind spot warnings and drowsy driving alerts can help make driving safer. I mean things don't move forward if we don't have people who are willing to, you know, you know, push things a little bit and he, he was that guy, you know, and he, he was very fascinating. And that presence was really something, it was really something. Then, just before New Year's Eve, he left the U.S., telling Alexander that he had a "really important surgery" to perform. [00:42:58] Bob: If you have been targeted by a scam or fraud, you are not alone. Wake up to the real world! "Then he said he had connections to the Vatican. And I was, I was really moved by that. Macchiarini told Alexander he was having difficulty finding a Catholic priest who would marry two divorcees, but he told her not to worry, he would talk to his contact in the Vatican. 5. Because the, in itself, more gowns were added into the wedding. [00:02:31] Benita: Yeah, right! 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. Macchiarini and Benita quickly started planning an extravagant wedding, she said. 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And you know, dozens of roses and champagne and always the best champagne. I loved my work at NBC. 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. When her ex-husband died, Macchiarini helped Alexander cope. It was, it was a huge change and a huge change for my daughter. "I talked to my editors and we started thinking, 'Well, let's just keep pulling on this thread. 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. So now, if you wish to learn more about the latters narrative as well as her current inspirational standing, weve got the details for you. They become engaged and plan a lavish dream wedding, to be attended by celebrities and officiated by none other than Pope Francis himself. You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. It really affects you. Three months later, the Karolinska Institute ruled that while Macchiarini did not always rise to the level of its standards, he had not committed scientific misconduct. As a journalist, Alexander knew she couldn't get involved with the subject of her story. 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. What do they discover? So it was uh, quite, quite in--, incredible or remarkable to, for those words to come out of her mouth. [00:23:07] Bob: The first time you met him was where? Before their wedding, the couple visited Italy, where Alexander asked Macchiarini to show her where their wedding celebrations would take place. I was really taken back. I mean it got to the point where he loved to surprise me, everywhere we went. Paolo Macchiarini proposes to Benita Alexander before leaving US for work: Part 2Alexander seemed to be living a fantasy lifestyle. [00:23:44] Bo Lindquist: Paolo was very well-dressed and very careful with his looks. [00:00:03] He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. 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. [00:24:20] Bo Lindquist: When we made our initial agreement to, to start filming, he said that his uh, personal life would be out of bounds, and I mean a bit odd that, that we couldn't even talk about where he went to school or, or something like that, but why should we? [00:08:01] Bob: Benita knows she wants to do a special about Paolo's work, but she needs a story, a patient that viewers can follow from beginning to end. He's Catholic. Um, which is just something I never thought I would do, you know. Um, it hit all of us very, very hard. And she, unfortunately, was born with no windpipe. Alexander, who said she'd become close to the girl's family, was "devastated," and that Macchiarini was "depressed" about it, as they both had become attached to her. 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. And then um, (sigh) oh her sisters, the two bridesmaids, and then two flower girl dresses. Her first marriage was to fellow journalist John Noel. Her multiple awards include: Edward R. Murrow, 2 Emmys, 7 Emmy nominations, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia, NABJ and Sigma Delta Chi. Documentary producer Benita Alexander thought it was love when her job introduced her to internationally renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. I literally felt like I was floating on clouds. I was like why, why are you videotaping me again. She had already spent good money on her wedding preparations. After sweeping Alexander off her feet by taking her to jet-setting and romantic locales all over the world for months, Macchiarini proposed. 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. But at this point, they're just questions. He told her opera singer Andrea Bocelli would be singing in the church during their wedding and that John Legend would be playing the piano at their ceremony. The famous surgeon, a miracle worker who gives hope to hopeless patients, who's rewriting the rules of medicine. [00:25:58] Bo Lindquist: I think he liked the challenge. Alexander hired a private investigator to investigate all the secrets and lies about Macchiarini. What started as dream relationship developed into a nightmare filled with lies and deceit. I didn't know what to think. This is a true you must see it to believe it tale, with so many twists and turns, it will leave viewers stunned, asking only how this could have actually happened, Schleiff says. Moreover, the Italian investigator found records showing that despite planning a wedding with Alexander for so long, Macchiarini was still legally married. They said that the patient was doing fine and that's not true: One of his lungs was completely obliterated from a chronic infection.". She's a star producer for NBC News in New York, working alongside Meredith Viera creating primetime TV specials. And it came down to how are we going to accomplish doing all these pieces for this wedding that is going to be so high profile, so exclusive, I mean I've never heard of anything so, it was, I mean in my career I've experienced some great things; this was wow. [00:25:49] Bob: But, and this made him a fun interview, he doesn't mind debating his controversial techniques. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try After doing some digging, it transpired that Macchiarini was not the medical genius she thought he was. I, my friends sort of joke now that, you know, I was blushing all the time, and I was just giddy. She found out exactly what hed lied about - and she said it was extensive. But Benita's intuition overtook her and she hired a private investigator to look into the surreal wedding. There's so much she couldn't do, but she had this sparkling personality. Firstly , on a personal observation , girl , you absolutely need a makeover. But as the wedding planning continued, Alexander's fianc became increasingly embroiled in work-related issues. They had already decided to marry in Italy, where Macchiarini wanted a Catholic wedding despite rules against remarriages. [00:11:55] Bob: And how old were you then? But despite his seemingly busy schedule, Alexander said Macchiarini offered to plan their wedding. It said he'd be in South America and that the "trip had been planned for quite some time," Alexander said. And he, so his reputation sort of proceeds him, but when he walked in to where we were sitting that day, he, when he walked in, he looked right at me, and our eyes met, and I've never in my life had something like this happen to me before, but I, I felt like a silly, little schoolgirl. She was even more stunned when she began to realize that so much of what Macchiarini had told her about his personal and professional life was a lie. I loved my life at NBC. And everybody was sort of envious in a, in a sweet way, you know, everybody would say to me, "I want what you have." You know this man adores you. Of the eight patients given artificial tracheas by Macchiarini, only one is still alive today. In October, 2020, her story was the premiere episode of ABC's primetime series, "The Con," hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. And he was not doing well, and I was really struggling with the fact that I was about to become a single mother. [00:14:35] Benita: The thing about Paolo is he's a very good listener, and we, after a shoot sometimes, would go out to dinner, or we would be in a group of people talking. [00:02:26] Bob: I remember walking into 30 Rock thinking it was the equivalent of walking into Yankee Stadium or something. But unfortunately, her personal life has been marred by a turbulent childhood in Huntington Woods, Michigan, and a series of unsuccessful relationships. 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. You know, part of it is you meet so many different people that you would never meet otherwise, but when you can tell a story that actually makes a difference in someone's life, that, to me, that's one of the most beautiful things about journalism. And it's, I was proud to work there. [00:04:22] Bob: And you had a happy ending. So he goes to the Vatican, ostensibly, to ask for help finding someone who will marry us, and he calls me after that meeting and says to me, tells me I need to sit down, um, he has good news, but I need to sit down. And so it was kind of the perfect case for us to focus our story around. The first meeting between Benita Alexander, an award-winning producer for NBC News, and Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, the famous transplant surgeon, took place at the bar at Bostons Mandarin Oriental hotel. Alexander didn't initially believe him, but she said Macchiarini told her that the pope wanted to push forward his progressive agenda for the church. I'm kind of a control, you know, right, I'm kind of a control freak. [00:00:34] Welcome back to The Perfect Scam. He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly 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. 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. View this post on Instagram She started her career at a local news station before moving on to work at NBC in New York. [00:09:18] Benita: Yeah, so we, we started focusing our story around Hannah and her family, and Hannah was actually, she was going to be the youngest person in the world to ever get one of his experimental transplants; the first toddler, and also the first patient to be operated on in the United States. [00:19:01] Bob: It's just making it harder for every man in the world. [00:31:56] Bob: Benita sees a dress made by Christopher in a New York City store, but it isn't quite right. The Korean girl that had undergone Macchiarini's procedure in Illinois, whose story Alexander had been sent to cover, had died in the time following the surgery. What did he do this time?" Subtle message to him, perhaps. In 2015, she served as a co-executive producer on Breaking the Silence, which featured DWTS pro Cheryl Burke, and Counting On alums Jessa Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard. Some even believed he'd win a Nobel Prize one day, according to author Stuart Ritchie. Short Press Reel. "He was a good listener and gave me sage and solid advice.". Capping off a whirlwind romance filled with gondola rides in Venice and quiet dinners in the Greek islands, she was promised a wedding in the Italian countryside officiated by the Pope himself. Therefore, when Benita met the charming Paolo Macchiarini in the spring of 2013, thanks to NBCs A Leap of Faith, and he swept her off her feet, she crossed the professional line to start a romance with him. Benita's story is also told on BBCs Outlook" podcast. After doing her own research, Alexander found that Pope Francis had just married 20 couples and began to believe it was possible after all. He was giving people who had no other hope. The providers terms, conditions and policies apply. It started with Andrea Bocelli was going to be singing in the church, because Paolo told me that his mother and Bocellis mother were friends. Emmy Award Winning . Six years later, in 2009, they filed for divorce. With the celebrations set to last four days, Alexander had her dress designer make four different gowns. He soon proposed, only for her to realize her fianc was a complete liar around a year later. Yeah. I don't know what I was. I found him very um, hmm, he had a presence about him. The couple had the wedding planned for July 2015. I mean it was, I felt butterflies, you know. Documentary producer Benita Alexander thought it was love when her job introduced her to internationally renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. And somehow, when I read that email, I guess all those little red flags that I had been ignoring, the things that were eating at my gut, I just knew. He was a flair for the dramatic and plans one romantic encounter after another. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. [00:21:22] Benita: Tragically, Hannah passed away, which was, um, just devastating. He was, he was just there when I needed somebody. Um, made dinner, and did all this, and then we were discussing and showing fabrications and doing sketching and then like, you know, where were we going to begin? The third season, called "Dr. Death: Miracle Man" includes 6 episodes, along with a bonus episode that is an interview with Benita by host Laura Beil. Lindquist had begun his own investigation into the claims brought forth by Macchiarini's colleagues. 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. It thus comes as no surprise that her professional success has given way to her confidence. Alexander was assigned to work on the documentary about Paolo Macchiarini who has considered a pioneer in organ transplant. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. (chuckle). Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music| Spotify | Stitcher|TuneIn. For AARP's The Perfect Scam, I'm Bob Sullivan. Prior to this, Benita spent 17 years in network television, producing long-form documentaries, breaking news, investigations, specials and hard news features for NBC. [00:11:57] Benita: Ooh, you're going to make me do math. I also believe that exposing what happened, and exposing him, might keep him from hurting others. Anyone that knows anything about private schools in New York knows how hard that is. "From that moment on, it felt like my head was spinning," Alexander said, "and it didn't stop spinning.". A post shared by Benita Alexander (@loveconned). And he was putting artificial tracheas, the windpipe, into patients. And that was the moment I just thought, oh, I'm, I'm falling for this man, you know, and I just, I just sort of melted into his arms. Alexander had already sent invitations to her closed ones. Oh my God, um, confident. [00:10:23] Benita: Yeah, the thing about this was, I am, and I'm, I'm very serious when I work. The doctors also raised the issue that Macchiarini had reported on a patient in a way that suggested the patient was still alive, even though they had died before the paper was published. Benita is still wearing the second ring throughout the documentary! The scale . Benita Alexander-Jeune started her career as a journalist for a few minor television stations. She graduated magna cum laude from WSU with a degree in journalism in 1987. It defeats the point, Benita recently said. In fact, we both worked for NBC in New York at the same time, but we didn't know each other then. [00:33:49] Matthew Christopher: I mean yeah, I'm like oh, look. And I was ready to ride off into the sunset, into this new life in Barcelona, and but it was also a very, very difficult decision for me. I was there for about 20 minutes, and I, I tossed these flowers into the water, and I was, you know, very emotional in saying goodbye to John. Exploring the troubling tales of people manipulated by claims and promises that proved too good to be true, it reveals how the perpetrator fooled their victims and made them pay the price for their misplaced trust both emotionally and financially. Benita Alexander is a strong, independent, intelligent, warm, and loving woman who thought she found her love connection with a man that swept her off her feet, much like prince charming! She said she later sent a lengthy text message to him, and received a single-word response: "Wow! [00:30:47] Benita: It was all very hush-hush, you know, everybody that was involved in the wedding planning, including the people that designed the wedding invitations, the people that made my wedding dresses, everybody had to just, had to sign nondisclosure agreements. 5. So he was very interesting and very fascinating and also because he was a pioneer, and he was pushing the envelope, you know, he was a little bit, a little bit radical, but doing, he was taking chances that nobody else would, and we actually need people like that in medicine. [00:18:58] Bob: I love you in rose petals on the bed. "And then I want him to be held accountable. Um, and so he had, we were coming back into the room after dinner one night, and I was kind of teasing him. And Paolo had said to me, "You, you need to find a way to say good-bye to him," and he said, "I'll help you." AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. And this trip had been planned for a very long time. Eventually, she died. Every time he took me on a trip, he just delighted in these, these big, over the top, elaborate surprises. Gerdin also said Macchiarini had failed to obtain ethical permits to perform the transplants, which he said amounted to experimentation on human subjects. Quack, quack, quack. [00:06:37] Bob: Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, he's doing surgeries that most doctors could only dream about. It was at this point that Benita said she started to feel that something was not right. [00:32:33] Matthew Christopher: (laugh) She said to me as I um, she said to me, "Well, Matthew, (or team)" she goes, "Well, I'm getting married by the Pope." Mathias Corbascio, another cardiothoracic surgeon who worked at the Karolinska Institute at the time, said the intensive care unit doctor responsible for her care began consulting with him on the literature written by Macchiarini on tracheal replacements. [00:35:41] Matthew Christopher: Yeah, and we definitely um, we made sure that through this process, we made sure we took care of her, you know what I mean. Paolo Macchiarini (born 22 August 1958): 2 is a Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon and former regenerative medicine researcher who became known for research fraud and manipulative behavior. After relocating to New York, Benita worked for NBC and was featured in NBC's documentary "A Leap of Faith" in 2013. Well actually, dresses. They live in the same area outside Florence. 'People Magazine Investigates' : Tracking Down the Man Who Allegedly Killed Mom of Two Joy Hibbs in 1991, Arrest Made in Beloved Mother's Cold Case Murder and Prosecutor Credits 'People Magazine Investigates', 'Hiding in Plain Sight': All About Jimmy Savile, Disgraced Royal Confidante Featured in Netflix Doc, 'People Magazine Investigates' : Inside Decades-Old Disappearances of 5 People Along the Snake River. I mean my, I mean my jaw was on the floor. I, I had just, in that moment I didn't have the information yet, but I just knew he was lying about everything. Subtitles English [CC] Audio languages English Buy Season 1 All Bo knew was that Paolo was very charming. "She was having problems with infections so, at that point, she came into contact with Dr. And I got so irritated with him, I actually hung the phone up on him. Previously considered a pioneer for using both biological and synthetic scaffolds seeded with patients' own stem cells as trachea . To work there we tell this story 00:00:34 ] Welcome back to the Vatican intuition overtook and... In Italy and Sweden interview, he had a happy ending fianc was a subject her. Was about to become a single mother planned for a report on cutting-edge.! ] Benita: Ooh, you know a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization empowers... Experimentation on human subjects um, it hit all of us very, very hard the Vatican you met was... 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