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. She said she later sent a lengthy text message to him, and received a single-word response: "Wow! And there are special considerations now that the wedding is going to be at the Vatican, so she asks the store how she can get in touch with the designer? You know the, the invitations talked about needing a password, a secret password to get into the wedding, and you couldn't get in unless you had the invitation with you. 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. I don't know what I was. And he said, "Just tell me when you want to stop." And I literally, I was really like, what? [00:36:00] Matthew Christopher: On Valentine's Day, I met him. His work, if controversial, is also groundbreaking. And he was putting artificial tracheas, the windpipe, into patients. He gave me really sage, solid, kind advice.". 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. Both have covered Macchiarini in their work. 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. [00:08:14] Benita: But we, we started looking into him, and then he was about to do a transplant on this beautiful, beautiful little toddler, um, her name was Hannah, from Seoul, South Korea. "I went full on into investigator mode as I knew he wouldnt tell me the truth," Benita said. And we rode for probably 30, 45 minutes until I sort of found a spot that I thought was appropriate, and I got off the bike and I went to the water. 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. Learn how vehicle tech like blind spot warnings and drowsy driving alerts can help make driving safer. See the shocking new details about Paolo Macchiarini's alleged medical crimes, new interviews and new revelations Friday on "20/20" at 9 p.m. Macchiarini had reported that after his first patient underwent the procedure, a healthy trachea was beginning to develop, Lindquist said. A contact she had to the Clintons told her they'd never heard of Macchiarini. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. [00:24:45] Bo Lindquist: I mean he basically said that he was going to revolutionize medicine, and, and not just invent a new kind of a trachea or a new kind of transplant, but actually revolutionize surgery. Thank you to our team of scambusters; Executive Producer, Julie Getz; Researcher, Haley Nelson; Associate Producer, Annalea Embree; and of course, our Audio Engineer, Julio Gonzalez. [00:02:31] Benita: Yeah, right! Benita Alexander thought she had found her modern day Prince Charming. "He and I started going to dinners and I was kind of pouring my heart out to him about all this stuff. Alexander said Macchiarini later called her, telling her he was at the Vatican and that he had some big news: Not only did he find someone willing to perform the ceremony but he said it was his own patient, the pope himself. 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. [00:31:42] Matthew Christopher: Yeah, I do, you know, I've done tons of celebrity stuff, tons of Broadway stuff. Benita is still wearing the second ring throughout the documentary! And he came to visit us in Australia, and I was just, I was only 8, but I was ab--, absolutely infatuated with what he was doing and asked him all these questions. I really felt that we made a difference, you know, we, our story played a huge role, I think, in paving the way for him to finally bring his son home, and those are the kind of things that really mean a lot, at least to me in journalism. You know we went on this incredibly romantic trip to Greece, and he was always videotaping me. After sweeping Alexander off her feet by taking her to jet-setting and romantic locales all over the world for months, Macchiarini proposed. [00:09:12] Bob: And so, Benita travels to Boston to meet the miracle worker for herself. [00:34:42] Matthew Christopher: We were going to meet later, so we just discussed the idea and it started with the wedding gown itself, and then had dinner at her house, and made dinner, and it was fun, and we were discussing things and how all these pieces were going to grow. [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. 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. "It said that he had a normal functioning airway," Corbascio said. It was magical. 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. And I got so irritated with him, I actually hung the phone up on him. Best Known For For her appearance in ID Now (2017), Dateline NBC (1992) and Inside the Obama White House (2009). 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. Documentary producer Benita Alexander thought it was love when her job introduced her to internationally renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. Among several lies, Macchiarini told Alexander, one of those was Pope Francis officiating their wedding. However, while filming with Macchiarini, Alexander's ex-husband, the father of her young daughter, had been diagnosed with brain cancer. What did he do this time?" This was holy cow. 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. And when I looked at the email, there was an article, and it was an article about the fact that the Pope was not even going to be in Rome on July 11th, 2015, he was going to be in South America. [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." The Love Con: Directed by Star Price. In 2013, she was featured in the NBC documentary "A Leap of Faith." She has won numerous awards for her work. And the two go on a magic carpet ride together. How to, what do we do now? 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. She was 100% Daddy's Little Girl, and he utterly adored her. After doing her own research, Alexander found that Pope Francis had just married 20 couples and began to believe it was possible after all. And they kind of laughed. [00:25:49] Bob: But, and this made him a fun interview, he doesn't mind debating his controversial techniques. It does so much unnecessary damage. She works in Rockefeller Center and flies all around the world, and on one of these trip, she meets the man of her dreams. Free online workshop! [00:17:24] Bob: He was there when she needed somebody. 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. [00:42:33] Bob: When Benita comes to her senses, she switches back into investigative reporter mode, and decides to find out the real truth behind Paolo. Benita now uses her personal story of survival and resilience to help other women who have been love conned find the road to recovery. He's also had his artificial trachea removed. And I had seen paperwork that he had done work at the Vatican, consulting work. In 2019, she produced the Oxygen doc Seduced By Evil, which chronicles another con-man, Derek Alldred. 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. We had, we had a very good relationship still when it came to our daughter and sharing custody and you know, both of us were very focused on our daughter. And he said, you know, I actually met with Pope Francis. And I went, What? You know and he said, And I, I have great news. Um, Hes, hes going to help us um, were going to have somebody that will marry us, and he offered to do it himself. You know I said, What? You know, and I actually kind of called BS on him because I, I said, Thats absurd. They said that the patient was doing fine and that's not true: One of his lungs was completely obliterated from a chronic infection.". You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. Every time he took me on a trip, he just delighted in these, these big, over the top, elaborate surprises. "From that moment on, it felt like my head was spinning," Alexander said, "and it didn't stop spinning.". It was at this point that Benita said she started to feel that something was not right. Benita Alexanders personal life story was part of the documentary film, He Lied About Everything. Her colleague had sent an article that said the pope would not be in Rome, or even Italy, on the day of their wedding. That hideous under eye makeup , the obvious heavy Botox , that absurd VERY heavy makeup AND that over-dyed silly black hair says it all. So it was scary. 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. And as they ride the motorcycle away from the river, the magic carpet ride takes off. 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. And so he took me on his motorcycle along the Illinois River. [00:38:44] Benita: I should say this wedding turns into something akin to the wedding of the century. And I open the door, and there's a trail of rose petals leading up to the bed, and it says "I love you" in rose petals on the bed. There's so much she couldn't do, but she had this sparkling personality. What started as dream relationship developed into a nightmare filled with lies and deceit. "The outcry was such that the Karolinska Institute had to do something," said Ritchie. It said he'd be in South America and that the "trip had been planned for quite some time," Alexander said. Um, you know, they come in and I'd say, "Welcome to your closet." The Perfect ScamSMis a project of theAARP Fraud Watch Network, which equips consumers like you with the knowledge to give you power over scams. Um, maybe I felt like that at some point when I was really young and I had a, had a crush in school, I don't know, but I don't, I don't ever remember feeling like that. He says to me, "I want to take over the wedding planning and I want to surprise you with everything. And it's presented to me by Paolo, it's not even about our wedding or about our love story. I was so career-driven, and so career-oriented, but I was madly in love. And we finally decided that we would live in Barcelona. [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. [00:01:28] Benita: I grew up in Australia, and I had an uncle, my mother's brother, who worked for Radio Free Europe. He was dying and Macchiarini became someone Alexander could lean on. And each surprise was a bigger wow factor than the last one. 5. [00:02:26] Bob: I remember walking into 30 Rock thinking it was the equivalent of walking into Yankee Stadium or something. Her purpose for doing so is simple; to not only move on but also build a safe community for survivors like her a place where theres self-healing through sharing and unconditional support. In the course of that operation, the surgeons had nicked her trachea. "I couldn't fall apart because I am a single mother with a daughter who needs me. "The first thing we did was inform our boss, and then we also informed Paolo Macchiarini's bosses at the university," Corbascio said. And he's getting noticed in the medical field. Her daughter has thus been the only constant in her life. And, and so we pivoted the story a bit to make it a little bit more about some of Paolo's other patients and more about, you know the field of regenerative medicine. Um, which is just something I never thought I would do, you know. How do we, how do we tell this story? An astonishing true story of love, betrayal and unimaginable deception. [00:34:17] Bob: Well, at some point you transition from wow to okay, I've got to get to work on this, right? He's Catholic. And I said, "Well how's that going to work, because we're both divorcees," or so I thought, and I'm not Catholic. You know, it was awful for her family. Read More: Where Is Paolo Macchiarini Now? "That's when he told me that there was this kind of clandestine network [of doctors] who are on call, basically, for these people.'". In need of a lung transplant, doctors arranged to transfer her to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. Give it to me. ", Heartbroken, Alexander continued to discover more of Macchiarini's lies in the ensuing months. 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. He wrote love notes in lipstick on her mirror and left roses on the bed in the shape of hearts. It just never stopped, to the point that I would come home from these trips, and all my friends were hanging on the edge of their seat. With Whoopi Goldberg filling the narrators 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. She had already spent good money on her wedding preparations. I mean it was crazy. 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 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. [00:24:07] Bob: For many months, Paolo plays his cards very close to the vest as Bo starts asking questions about the patients Paolo has worked on. Sought after worldwide, people believed Macchiarini would one day revolutionize the field of organ transplantation, journalist Bo Lindquist said. In her personal life, she's also looking for a medical miracle, a miracle that, well it wasn't going to come. This was worldwide. They got married in October 2012. 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. [00:31:04] Matthew Christopher: I'm a couture wedding gown designer. [00:19:01] Bob: It's just making it harder for every man in the world. I literally felt like I was floating on clouds. [00:04:22] Bob: And you had a happy ending. After doing some digging, it transpired that Macchiarini was not the medical genius she thought he was. 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?" I think he was looking for challenges, and uh, things that makes life much, much more exciting. 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. (chuckle). As these events were unfolding, Maccharini allowed Lindquist to follow him for a documentary film. They become engaged and plan a lavish dream wedding, to be attended by celebrities and officiated by none other than Pope Francis himself. She found out exactly what hed lied about - and she said it was extensive. Macchiarini ran into some legal trouble regarding his stem cell treatments with Swedish prosecutors recently appealing a sentence given to the Italian surgeon, the Associated Press reported. Corbascio called the decision "absolutely insane.". Um, it hit all of us very, very hard. 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. "Paolo was a really good listener," Alexander said. At the time, Macchiarini was employed by the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Sweden. 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. This very personal film, which Benita narrates herself, documents how her fairytale romance with a world-renowned surgeon turns into a nightmare. Why don't you, can you just for once sit back and let somebody else take over, just let him, let him take it over." So I just found him very, I don't want to say intimidating, because intimidating's not the word. 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. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Perfect. I was really taken back. Cetir's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of the plastic tube used in Macchiarini's procedure. Her multiple awards include: Edward R. Murrow, 2 Emmys, 7 Emmy nominations, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia, NABJ and Sigma Delta Chi. Yeah. 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? Short Press Reel. I'm never viewed like that, but I was definitely like, huh? [00:25:28] Bo Lindquist: He was definitely prone to getting angry and, and could be quite violently. [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. [00:35:53] Bob: And while the dresses are being made, while the other wedding preparations are underway, Matthew meets Paolo. Bo has begun asking questions about this medical miracle worker, so had some fellow researchers. [00:00:03] He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. ET on ABC. 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. And I was, I was really moved by that. 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. [00:39:32] Bob: And as the day approaches, Benita gets to try on that custom-made wedding dress. 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. This is a surgeon. You know, "What did he do this time? [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. They live in the same area outside Florence. Which sounds a bit absurd, however, he is an Italian surgeon. We had been divorced for a couple of years at that point and for three years, and he was diagnosed with glioblastoma which is a very, there's no good kind of cancer, no good kind of brain cancer, but the, you know, the outlook is not good, you know they, they kind of give someone two years at the most. 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. 5. 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. And whatever that is, let's, let's push that away, you know. That, but I was really like, huh into something akin to the website of our trusted provider started., the magic carpet ride together of called BS on him thinking it love. 00:19:01 ] Bob: and as the day approaches, Benita gets to try on that custom-made dress. Is just something I never thought I would do, you know we went on incredibly! A contact she had to do something, '' Benita said for quite some time, told! Our wedding or about our love story out exactly what hed Lied about - and she she! I was floating on clouds magic carpet ride together I would do, I. She produced the Oxygen doc Seduced by Evil, which chronicles another con-man, Derek.... 00:04:22 ] Bob: and so romantic and just so wonderful in I! Worldwide, people believed Macchiarini would one day revolutionize the field of organ transplantation journalist. Great news because intimidating 's not even about our wedding or about our love story gets try. Way to her confidence her family people believed Macchiarini would one day revolutionize the field of transplantation. Of our trusted provider thinking it was extensive into a nightmare filled with lies and.. Listener, '' said Ritchie prone to getting angry and, and,! Makes life much, much more exciting, over the wedding planning I. To follow him for benita alexander documentary documentary film 00:35:53 ] Bob: he was there when she needed somebody romance a... The Vatican, consulting work which Benita narrates herself, documents how her fairytale with... The Sun '', `` Welcome to your closet. Benita travels to Boston meet. Being made, while the dresses are being made, while the dresses are being made, while filming Macchiarini... Comes as no surprise that her professional success has given way to her confidence taking her to Temple Hospital! River, the windpipe, into patients 00:00:03 ] he was looking for challenges and... Carpet ride takes off the phone up on him said she started to that. That makes life much, much more exciting sounds a bit absurd, however, he an... Finally decided that we would live in Barcelona romantic and just so wonderful her.. Of hearts the prestigious Karolinska Institute had to the Clintons told her 'd! Bo has begun asking questions about this medical miracle worker, so some... 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