Under the Knife: A Beautiful Woman, a Phony Doctor, and a Shocking Homicide Read Online Free PDF Page A

romance department things blew hot, then ice cold. For four intense months, she had a serious relationship with Bill Morgan. When he moved to Chicago, they agreed that it was over. Emotionally, though, Maria had a hard time letting go. She contacted him later with a proposal that she follow him to the Windy City. She dropped that idea when Bill told her he planned to marry someone else.
    In 2002, Maria took the next step to molding her vision of a perfect life: She became a naturalized United States citizen. In May of that year, she took a trip to Houston for a family wedding. Her parents flew in from the Philippines for the occasion. The reunion was short but sweet. Rudolfo and Irenea had no way of knowing that it would be the last time they would ever see their daughter.
    At Christmas time, Maria took in the glorious display at Rockefeller Center. She loved the pageantry of Christmas in Manhattan, but vowed that when the holiday rolled around the next time, she would celebrate in her native land.
    No country on earth has a longer celebration of Christmas than the one in the Philippines. Every household is adorned with the bright, colorful parol—the national symbol of the Star of Bethlehem. For nine mornings, Catholic families gather at their local churches for a dawn mass. Outside, vendors fill the air with the tantalizing scent of traditional holiday treats.
    After mass, families gather round to purchase and consume
bibingka
—a sweet rice cake resembling a Western pancake topped with grated coconut—and
puto bumbong
, a rice and water batter baked in a special clay pot lined with banana leaves and topped with slices of
kesong puti
, a white cheese, and
itlog na maalat
, salted duck eggs. The thought of these native concoctions made Maria’s mouth water, and she began to plan her first trip back to the Philippines in more than ten years.
    As 2002 came to a close, so did Maria’s decade-long stay at St. Joseph’s Home. She moved seven blocks away to a luxury studio apartment on the fourteenth floor of a high-rise complex with a uniformed doorman.
    In January of 2003, Maria Cruz surfed the Internet and made a fatal decision. She scheduled her first appointment with Dean Faiello.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    DEAN FAIELLO WAS BORN AT CLARA MAAS HOSPITAL IN Belleville, New Jersey, on August 31, 1959. Sam and Carmel Faiello brought their first child home to Newark, where the family lived in the home of Dean’s widowed maternal grandmother, Ada.
    The year Dean turned three, he and his parents moved into their own home at 9 Cedar Avenue in Madison, a small, affluent town close to New York City. Another change occurred in the Faiello household that year—Dean’s sister Debra was born.
    To the children, the world revolved around their mother. She stayed at home and devoted her life to her kids. Like all the women in her family, Dean’s mother was of diminutive stature—just 5′3″, a couple of inches taller than her own mother. To her children, though, she thrust sky-high—a tower of strength. When they spoke to her, she focused in on their words, looked them directly in the eye and made them feel like the most special people in the world. Her smile lingered in Dean’s mind. It was a warm and radiant smile that filled her entire face.
    Her influence extended beyond the children. Carmel affected the mood of those in any room she entered. No one could ignore her presence. She was loved for her kindness and empathy.
    Carmel sent her children off to school in clean, fresh-pressed outfits with lunch money in hand. She made sure they were on time for class. She was active in the PTA, helping organize school fairs and pot-luck dinners. When the kids returned home each day, they knew she would be there waiting with snacks, ready to listen to their stories about school.
    Despite the chaos of having two young children at home, Carmel maintained a fastidious appearance. She kept her nails manicured, her hair styled, her make-up impeccable