Macchiarini was already being scrutinized for his work, including by doctors who had been trying to save the life of one of his patients, Yesim Cetir. His work, if controversial, is also groundbreaking. She was taking an incredible risk by getting involved with Paolo. "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. He spent months supposedly going to different churches in Italy, and he would send me pictures of these places, and all these details, and asked me if I liked them or not. 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. NEW YORK Dr Paolo Macchiarini, He Lied About Everything with Benita Alexander Armchair MBA 18K subscribers Join Subscribe 1.5K Share Save 128K views 2 years ago I chat with Benita Alexander. Are you new to podcasts? Nothing anybody could do for her, and then like so many of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini's patients, they did a google search and found this kind of a magician of a surgeon who said I can help your little girl. One name kept coming up over and over again, Dr. Paolo Macchiarini. [00:39:49] Matthew Christopher: Um, so Paolo was going to have a place where he came out, after he did something with the Pope, and he said he's going to give her this ring, and there were going to be fireworks and blah, blah, blah, but he was going to be handed off to her in this dress, right, for a reception, and the dress was going to come out with this tulle overskirt, and it was going to ripped off by Paolo, and it was going to have a dance gown underneath, like Dancing with the Stars. [00:36:00] Matthew Christopher: On Valentine's Day, I met him. Maybe help me, help with the invitations 'cause I don't want to deal with that. [00:18:02] Benita: Oh, there was so many. And this is something very clandestine and secretive and he cant talk about, but hes been doing this for many years, and he is a celebrity surgeon to a number of famous people and celebrities, but that he cant talk about this because hes tied to people who want a private doctor who will attend to them but, you know, they have these private doctors, because they don't want anyone to know, you know, whats going on in their private life. The self-proclaimed love con expert is essentially currently utilizing her platform to expose various cases and empower brave women to not be shamed into silence, as per her Instagram. She reflected on their relationship and wondered how she could've missed all the red flags. And uh I decided to, to take his favorite flowers, birds of--, bird of paradise, and I ended up going to a flower shop and getting three birds of paradise; one for me, my, one for my daughter, and one for John, and Paolo um, loved motorcycles, and we had been shooting him on a motorcycle. Benita Alexander has been working as a Macchiarini at NBC News. 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. I did not think that by pulling that thread, we would completely undo the sweater.". 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. Benita Alexander has been working as a Macchiarini at NBC News. Benita was pursuing a big story when the ill-fated lovers met in 2013. She won a slew of honors for her work with the greatest in television reporting, including two Emmys. "He didnt know Pope Francis, he wasnt his personal doctor.". "I was doing a story about regenerative medicine and his name kept coming up," Benita, a New York resident, said on the podcast Dr Death: Miracle Man. Macchiarini and Benita quickly started planning an extravagant wedding, she said. I'm never viewed like that, but I was definitely like, huh? And it's Paolo who helps Benita figure out the best way to say goodbye. [00:39:32] Bob: And as the day approaches, Benita gets to try on that custom-made wedding dress. Anyone that knows anything about private schools in New York knows how hard that is. [00:13:10] Benita: When I met Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, and when I was working on this story, I was at an extremely vulnerable place in my life. Uh, I think he actually appreciated being challenged to an extent. [00:12:41] Bob: And you went forward with that weekend pushing the feeling aside, right? But the former NBC News producer would come to find out the hard way that even the most glamorous and convincing of appearances can be deceiving. 5. I truly was for a period there, happier than I think I've ever been. So first it was about the wedding gown itself. After she called Macchiarini, furious about what she'd read, she began to wonder what else he might have lied about. And I said, "Well how's that going to work, because we're both divorcees," or so I thought, and I'm not Catholic. 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[00:24:37] Bob: Paolo is a natural subject for a documentary film. 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. [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. This is totally different. [00:22:38] Bob: What Benita doesn't know at the time, she couldn't have known, is that Hannah's death also sparks the interest of the European journalist named Bo Lindquist, a Swedish filmmaker, he's already working on a documentary film about Paolo, but it isn't designed with a happy ending in mind. ABC News reported that Macchiarini has never spoken publicly about his relationship with Benita. And he was putting artificial tracheas, the windpipe, into patients. [00:31:37] Bob: Matthew is no stranger to dressing important people at important times. I also believe that exposing what happened, and exposing him, might keep him from hurting others. 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. 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 been separated for a long time and was filing for divorce. 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. 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. The famous surgeon, a miracle worker who gives hope to hopeless patients, who's rewriting the rules of medicine. A successful TV journalist, the single mother-of-one was interviewing him for a report on cutting-edge medicine. I'm going to have to do the exact number but [00:12:07] Bob: And you hadn't felt that way ever, or at least not for 30 years, something like that. Macchiarini had been credited with developing innovative surgical techniques using stem cells in synthetic trachea transplants. She was 100% Daddy's Little Girl, and he utterly adored her. The true tale of the love affair between award-winning investigative producer Benita Alexander and world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. [00:31:56] Bob: Benita sees a dress made by Christopher in a New York City store, but it isn't quite right. "I was angry as hell. None of the promises Alexander said her fianc Paolo Macchiarini had made for their wedding day would come true. He speaks 5 or 6 languages, and he works all over the world, and you know, dresses very beautifully. Alexander, an award-winning documentary TV producer, met Macchiarini in 2013 while working on a story about the surgeon's pioneering work transplanting synthetic tracheas, or windpipes. But our guest list was insane because now that the Pope was marrying us, he kept inviting all these dignitaries, you know, so world leaders were coming to our wedding. 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. A contact she had to the Clintons told her they'd never heard of Macchiarini. 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. Perfect. 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. I don't want you to do anything except find your dresses and just, all you have to do is show up and look beautiful. I mean, and we didn't know what to do. ", Jupiter and Venus appear to 'kiss' in the sky, What is graupel? He actually brought him home on Christmas Day, and he and I are still in touch. [00:31:07] Bob: But what is a couture wedding gown designer? He worked at the place that awards the Nobel Prize in Medicine, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden. The qualified journalist then began working at a string of local television stations. In the course of that operation, the surgeons had nicked her trachea. Benita Alexander thought she had found her modern day Prince Charming. And they kind of laughed. Then, just before New Year's Eve, he left the U.S., telling Alexander that he had a "really important surgery" to perform. 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. See production, box office & company info, Fatal Experiments: The Downfall of a Supersurgeon. And I had seen paperwork that he had done work at the Vatican, consulting work. [00:11:57] Benita: Ooh, you're going to make me do math. The Karolinska Institute, which had renewed Macchiarini's contract in November 2015, launched another investigation into Macchiarini and reversed its previous conclusions -- Macchiarini was indeed guilty of scientific misconduct, the Institute determined. Benita Alexander's documentary chronicles her fairytale romance with a celebrity surgeon that turned into a scam. Their trained fraud specialists can provide you with free support and guidance on what to do next. And so that meant me quitting my job at NBC and leaving New York and pulling my daughter out of her very difficult to get into private school in New York. You will be asked to register or log in. 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. On your mark, get set, go. Paolo Macchiarini proposes to Benita Alexander before leaving US for work: Part 2Alexander seemed to be living a fantasy lifestyle. Give it to me. [00:15:28] Bob: As Hannah's story becomes more intense, the news on Benita's ex-husband, John, gets worse. He was kind of a rebel. Oh, and a dance gown too, that was crazy fun. "The woman in Barcelona was not his wife. Oxygen.com interviews filmmaker and reporter Benita Alexander, an executive producer of the 90-minute documentary "Seduced by Evil," about con man Derek Alldred. So over the next few days he tells me that theres something hes never told me before, and that he is actually Pope Franciss private personal doctor. And everybody was sort of envious in a, in a sweet way, you know, everybody would say to me, "I want what you have." Firstly , on a personal observation , girl , you absolutely need a makeover. [00:34:35] Bob: The first step is working with Benita on ideas for the wedding dress. And we got involved and started doing the story, and it got very intense. And basically giving up everything. He never did that with me, but I, I've, I have seen him really being quite, quite unpleasant with um, PhDs and people who were sort of subordinate. [00:21:22] Benita: Tragically, Hannah passed away, which was, um, just devastating. And we first met in early 2013. [00:23:20] Bob: Bo also spent many months following Paolo around the world, getting to know him, getting Paolo to open up to him. 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. How do we, how do we tell this story? [00:33:22] Matthew Christopher: Right. "He said he was having trouble finding a priest to marry us," she said. Macchiarini had reported that after his first patient underwent the procedure, a healthy trachea was beginning to develop, Lindquist said. ABCs The Con is a true-crime documentary series that unveils the curtain on the people behind some of the most atrocious scams in recent times. And one of those really, really tight embraces. 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. And you know, dozens of roses and champagne and always the best champagne. He was incredibly generous with them as well. Javascript must be enabled to use this site. They became friends and over time she felt herself falling for him, despite her journalistic integrity impeding the romance. In need of a lung transplant, doctors arranged to transfer her to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. What started as dream relationship developed into a nightmare filled with lies and deceit. I have to tell you, and I'm like, you know, I'm a very boisterous, fun guy, that's, you know, and very um, slap-happy fun, and I literally stopped in my tracks, and was like, "Huh?" It was beyond Benita's wildest dreams - Macchiarini reportedly told her he invited Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Elton John, and that the Pope himself would oversee the ceremony. 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. Um, it hit all of us very, very hard. [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. 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. I mean it got to the point where he loved to surprise me, everywhere we went. You know this man adores you. [00:38:37] Bob: But even without asking any questions, one thing is clear, this wedding is going to be big. Moreover, the Italian investigator found records showing that despite planning a wedding with Alexander for so long, Macchiarini was still legally married. Alexander is well-known for her career in production and film and was also in a relationship scam that made headlines and fueled her documentary, "He Lied About Everything." It was going to be this four-day event in Rome, you know, with a red carpet event the night before the wedding, and a big brunch the day after the wedding, and people bought plane tickets, they bought fancy, you know, red carpet attire for this wedding. Macchiarini.". The couple had the wedding planned for July 2015. During her investigation into Macchiarini, Alexander hired private investigators in the U.S. and Italy. I see a woman and two kids," she said, adding that she knew about Paolo's wife in Italy. What started as dream relationship developed into a nightmare filled with lies and deceit. Reality struck Alexander's fantasy romance eight weeks before she was supposed to marry Macchiarini in 2015, when she received an email from a colleague with the subject line saying, "The Pope.". He's also never spoken publicly about his relationship with Alexander. Hosted by Benita Alexander. Creating artificial body parts. She is currently the voice of the true crime series "Still A Mystery" on Investigation Discovery, and she has narrated four seasons of this ongoing, multi part show. Macchiarini took Alexander to several romantic getaways in Europe. 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. After relocating to New York, Benita worked for NBC and was featured in NBC's documentary "A Leap of Faith" in 2013. But on the afternoon that she met him, a day before she was supposed to begin filming him, something happened that gave her pause. Macchiarini has not yet entered a plea, but has denied all of the charges. She is an executive producer, narrator, writer and director known for her work in the true crime genre. And I think I was even blushing. I mean I'm going to achieve this; you know what I mean? Benita Alexander is an award-winning investigative television producer, showrunner, correspondent, director, writer and narrator who has worked on a wide variety of film and TV programs. I was like, 'What is happening to Benita,'" Alexander's friend, Marian Fontana, said. And Paolo never talks about his personal life. I was so career-driven, and so career-oriented, but I was madly in love. He was listed as one of . And then John Legend was supposed to be playing piano in the church. 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. 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