Call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360. It hired Bengt Gerdin, a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, who spent six months examining some of Macchiarini's papers for evidence of research misconduct and in May 2015 determined that he was guilty, writing in his report that Macchiarini had made false claims about his patients' conditions improving, failed to report severe complications in some patients and made it seem as if some patients had been healthier for longer than they'd actually been following their surgeries. Lindquist said the documentary sparked outrage in Sweden, and weeks later, new investigations into Macchiarini began. [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. "We had to clear her throat basically every four to six hours, sort of 24 hours, seven days a week," said Oscar Simonson, a cardiothoracic surgeon who worked at the Karolinska Institute and its affiliated hospital at the time. Claiming he was in demand. In fact, the scientist was embroiled in lawsuits and accusations at work. [00:05:44] Benita: Yeah, I mean the, we wanted to do a story about this field called regenerative medicine which added base core, the most simplistic way to define this is, it's sort of sci-fi, futuristic medicine where the, the goal is to be able to create body parts or organs in the lab, man-made. I'll take care of it." Yeah. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD, Emily Whipp, Laura Dimon, Colleen Halpin, Emma Piscia and Anthony Rivas. In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails I mean most 8-year-olds will change their minds, you know, many times, but I never changed. [00:35:01] Matthew Christopher: No, no, just her friends who are so much fun. 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. Alexander was working on a documentary about Macchiarini's success in the medical field. [00:35:21] Bob: It does sound like the kind, I mean we were talking about what, 10 gowns? With the preparations nearly finished, Benita decides to take maybe the toughest step she's ever taken in her 20-year career as a journalist. 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. Copyright 2023 ABC News Internet Ventures. [00:15:28] Bob: As Hannah's story becomes more intense, the news on Benita's ex-husband, John, gets worse. Lindquist's three-part documentary series "The Experiments" began airing just over a week after the damning Vanity Fair article was published in early January 2016. Macchiarini had reported that after his first patient underwent the procedure, a healthy trachea was beginning to develop, Lindquist said. She won a slew of honors for her work with the greatest in television reporting, including two Emmys. This was, I didn't even know what to say. That makes me crazy. [00:00:01] Bob: This week on The Perfect Scam. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. You know, "You've, you've renewed my faith in love.". He was giving people who had no other hope. That's pretty unusual too. Excellent place. Benita was also the Co-Executive Producer and narrator for the 2016 TLC documentary, Breaking the Silence," about sexual abuse. And, and then he would tell me the priest won't marry us, and this went on and on and on. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. With the celebrations set to last four days, Alexander had her dress designer make four different gowns. Benita Alexander has been working as a Macchiarini at NBC News. [00:36:44] Bob: I feel like there's some people you meet who are simultaneously uh impressive but uncomfortable. In fact, he told me that Paolo would often leave their interview to engage in some frantic texting with someone, probably a lover, probably Benita. 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. En Espanol The couple shares a daughter named Jessina, born in 2003. He responded wow,'" Benita claimed. She couldn't eat. Paolo had actually told her that Pope Francis would be officiating their wedding and that celebrities such as Elton John, the Clintons, the Obamas, and the Beckhams, among many others, would be in attendance, and shed somehow believed him. A post shared by Benita Alexander (@loveconned). Benita Alexander has been married twice. He has been convicted of research-related crimes in Italy and Sweden. The documentary includes never-before-seen footage and photos and shows Alexanders search for the truth after such a shocking betrayal of the heart. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. The two-part special He Lied About Everything premieres on ID on Wednesday, Feb. 14 from 8 to 10 p.m. 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. He is one of the world's leading cardio thoracic surgeons. When she continued to press Macchiarini about the pope, she said he blamed Vatican politics, alleging that the more conservative former Pope Benedict went behind Pope Francis' back to stop him from officiating the wedding. 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I was really taken back. I didn't even, I, I, I stopped in hesitation. And each surprise was a bigger wow factor than the last one. (chuckle). I, I had just, in that moment I didn't have the information yet, but I just knew he was lying about everything. But before the wedding can happen, Benita makes a . Macchiarini had told her that he and his wife were separated, but that the divorce hadn't yet been finalized legally. "Paolo was a really good listener," Alexander 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. And he was not doing well, and I was really struggling with the fact that I was about to become a single mother. Kind of like being in a fairy tale, you know. Benita Alexander thought she had found her modern day Prince Charming. The emotions of the moment overwhelm her. Oxygen.com interviews filmmaker and reporter Benita Alexander, an executive producer of the 90-minute documentary "Seduced by Evil," about con man Derek Alldred. [00:31:07] Bob: But what is a couture wedding gown designer? [00:06:46] Benita: And he was, as I said, called the super surgeon, and he was the pioneer in this field. Benita Alexander is a producer, director, writer, and narrator, who has actually been behind several episodes of ID's '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. He's also never spoken publicly about his relationship with Alexander. You know, the equivalent of going to a drugstore and buying whatever, you, they, the idea is ultimately we'll get to the point that, you know, you have a failing organ or you lose a body part, you just order up a new one. He actually brought him home on Christmas Day, and he and I are still in touch. If you want to tell somebody's story well, it, it helps if you can really tell it from their perspective. Benita Alexander has everything going for her. Um, she was being brought to Illinois, the Children's Hospital of Illinois because a Korean nurse there had found Hannah in the hospital in Seoul and had sort of lobbied to bring her to the US. Perfect. People could be dying because of this man, and therefore, I couldn't stay silent, I couldn't crawl under the covers. Macchiarini claims the synthetic trachea didn't shorten Tuulik's life or the lives of any of his other patients, or cause their deaths. 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. Learn how to subscribe to AARP Podcasts on any device. And this trip had been planned for a very long time. He was kind of a rebel. But Bo at the time had no idea who it was. And I was, I was really moved by that. Alexander was in head over heels for Macchiarini. You know, it was awful for her family. It was at this point that Benita said she started to feel that something was not right. [00:00:34] Welcome back to The Perfect Scam. [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. [00:08:14] 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. Her multiple awards include: Edward R. Murrow, 2 Emmys, 7 Emmy nominations, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia, NABJ and Sigma Delta Chi. "I wanted to get all the information that I could before I really confronted him.". She was devasted to learn all the lies told by Macchiarini. He wrote love notes in lipstick on her mirror and left roses on the bed in the shape of hearts. [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. And it's presented to me by Paolo, it's not even about our wedding or about our love story. A successful TV journalist, the single mother-of-one was interviewing him for a report on cutting-edge medicine. The two-part special details how Alexander, an award-winning investigative news producer, met Dr. Paolo Macchiarini while she was producing an NBC News special about the renowned surgeons work in the field of regenerative medicine. 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. 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. ET on ABC. Despite her work ethic, she fell in love with Macchiarini. In need of a lung transplant, doctors arranged to transfer her to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. He was put on trial after his patients reportedly suffered bodily harm during his experimental surgeries but he always denied any criminal wrongdoing. [00:02:26] Bob: I remember walking into 30 Rock thinking it was the equivalent of walking into Yankee Stadium or something. What did he do this time?" Her colleague had sent an article that said the pope would not be in Rome, or even Italy, on the day of their wedding. I loved my work at NBC. Subtle message to him, perhaps. I mean we were there to speak about science, so I thought, okay. I was like why, why are you videotaping me again. It's, it's a very um, it has a lot of stature, that building and a lot of meaning. 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. Soon afterward, he took her on an "over the top" romantic trip to Italy, where they ate extravagant meals, went shopping and island hopped on a private boat, she said. [00:19:03] Benita: (laugh) Yeah, yep, yeah. 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. Macchiarini remains married to Emanuela Pecchia, his wife of nearly 30 years. 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. This is totally different. 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. He soon proposed, only for her to realize her fianc was a complete liar around a year later. And she was Daddy's Little Girl. 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. [00:33:17] Bob: What he thinks is this is going to be an incredible challenge. She said she later sent a lengthy text message to him, and received a single-word response: "Wow! "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. Yeah. [00:38:37] Bob: But even without asking any questions, one thing is clear, this wedding is going to be big. He Lied About Everything is the true tale of the love affair between award-winning investigative producer Benita Alexander, and world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. The Karolinska Institute commissioned an external investigation into the allegations. And after he left, I said to my parents, that's what I'm going to do when I grow up. 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. Benita's story is also told on BBCs Outlook" podcast. Benita Alexander-Noel was born on April 21, 1966 in Australia. 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. [00:00:03] He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. With a purported VIP list of friends and clients that included former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Russian president Vladimir Putin and entertainment icons such as Elton John, their wedding was expected to be one of the biggest events of the year. [00:31:32] Bob: I mean that sounds like a very special process. The qualified journalist then began working at a string of local television stations. [00:23:14] Bo Lindquist: And then we traveled to different places. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? I mean I, I loved NBC. 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. Macchiarini and Benita quickly started planning an extravagant wedding, she said. I had to expose him.". [00:02:54] Bob: Benita focused on emotional stories, many involving children in tragic circumstances. 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. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. What is happening? "I couldn't fall apart because I am a single mother with a daughter who needs me. [00:17:51] Bob: Their relationship blossoms quickly. But her death was awful. None of the promises Alexander said her fianc Paolo Macchiarini had made for their wedding day would come true. wwf wrestling cards worth money, charleston's baked bean recipe, What is a couture wedding gown designer he wrote love notes in lipstick on her mirror left. 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