Has gotten a Greensburg, PA(my hometown) plastic surgeon, Augusto Hanasani(41), into trouble. Much bigger than the obvious 'operating without permission' that he did on "Julie Harris" whose breast augmentation he repossessed after finding out she had stolen another woman's identity.
This, from the Greensburg Horizon, which infuriatingly has not changed with the times, and does not have a website, so I'll attempt to summarize to the best of my untrained ability.
Upon discovery that the 'victim' Julie Mathis(24), had stolen the identify of another woman, using her Social Security number to rack up thousands of dollars of debt in the woman's name in two years, Hanasani called local pharmacies, providing them with a description of the woman. He asked them to call him if a woman fitting her description attempted to fill a prescription in his name, which she inevitably did, in pain from the breast implants and liposuction she had received that day. Fearing being found out, Hanasani inferred, the woman fled the recovery suite they provide to all patients just seven hours after the surgery, much under the recommended 48 hours for those who come in on their own.
Hanasani then explained how the entire process got started:
When Hanasani went to confront the woman, he found her gone, prompting him to make the phone call. He then lured the woman back to his recovery suite, and after hearing her "sob story", one of being abandoned by her parents and abused by her last boyfriend, he offered her a face lift as well, to help her start a new life with a better "look", which she agreed to. But, according to Hanasani, that's not what she got.
That's crime number one, I would think, as operating on someone without permission, even someone as deceitful as this young woman, should be a serious offense. Unfortunately, that's not where the story ends as Hanasani continues:
"Harris" obviously chose option #2, which ultimately turned out to be the wrong choice. After their 'meeting', Hanasani went to check on "Harris" an hour later, he reported, and found her dead. He explained:
As it stands, Hanasani is being charged with Aggravated Assault for operating on Harris without permission, and Involuntary Manslaughter, as he invited the real Harris to come visit with the fake without proper supervision of the visit.
Harris is being charged with First Degree Murder.
While I certainly don't condone the actions of either person, I can understand the anger of Hanasani, and the rage of Harris. We'll never be privy to the conversation between the two women, or if Harris simply killed her upon seeing her. Hanasani explained that the woman seemed contrite, and was going to try and find a way to pay the real Harris back. But whether she was able to explain this to Harris will never be known, as her actions lead directly to thousands of dollars lost she was never able to retrieve, and indirectly to the loss of her marriage.
What I can't fathom is the actions of either person, with so much to lose. Hanasani will at least, I'd fathom, lose his license to practice, and face certain jail time if convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter, although I don't quite agree with the Manslaughter charge. I'm not a legal expert, but I imagine it was added to ensure that, if his defense team cuts a deal of some kind, jail time will be certain for his "role" in her death.
I also question the first degree murder charge to Harris. Did she go to the medical suite, planning to smother the woman to death? I doubt it. Was it something she said that set Harris off, or was just the sight of her enough to set her off? Her trial will tell, I imagine, as her testimony is truly the only thing that can truly explain.
The one thing I know to be certain is this: Everyone loses here. A woman lost her life, a plastic surgeon is going to lose his practice, at least, and a mother of three who has already lost so much is going to lose her freedom.
If you were Hanasani and Harris, seperately, how would you have confronted the "fake Harris", given the chance?
Does the charge of involuntary manslaughter fit here for Hanasani?
How about the first degree charge murder for Harris?
This is one of the most bizarre, twisted stories I've ever come across in my life, with deplorable actions by all three human beings here. Hanasani seems the least guilty, as it seems his intention(after repossesing her breasts, anyway) was to broker peace between the fake and real Harris. But the real Harris killed a helpless, likely quite weak "fake Harris", and the "fake Harris" was an unrepentant con artist who blamed her childhood and abusive boyfriends for stealing identities.
All other thoughts and discussion of this screwed up story is welcome here.
This, from the Greensburg Horizon, which infuriatingly has not changed with the times, and does not have a website, so I'll attempt to summarize to the best of my untrained ability.
Upon discovery that the 'victim' Julie Mathis(24), had stolen the identify of another woman, using her Social Security number to rack up thousands of dollars of debt in the woman's name in two years, Hanasani called local pharmacies, providing them with a description of the woman. He asked them to call him if a woman fitting her description attempted to fill a prescription in his name, which she inevitably did, in pain from the breast implants and liposuction she had received that day. Fearing being found out, Hanasani inferred, the woman fled the recovery suite they provide to all patients just seven hours after the surgery, much under the recommended 48 hours for those who come in on their own.
Hanasani then explained how the entire process got started:
"Two days ago, I was contacted by the real Julie Mathis, a 48 mother of three. This is shortly after I had done the procedure. She had been tracking the debt being racked up in her name, and came to my office, demanding to know where the woman was. I then took her into my office, where she explained how the theft of her identity had lead her into debt, and her unrelenting pursuit of this woman had cost her her marriage, to, which I felt ironic, a plastic surgeon."
When Hanasani went to confront the woman, he found her gone, prompting him to make the phone call. He then lured the woman back to his recovery suite, and after hearing her "sob story", one of being abandoned by her parents and abused by her last boyfriend, he offered her a face lift as well, to help her start a new life with a better "look", which she agreed to. But, according to Hanasani, that's not what she got.
"I've done plenty of "pro-bono" work, which at times has left me feeling taken advantage of. I wasn't going to allow another woman take advantage of me, and being that I was not going to be paid for her breast augmentation, I removed them.
That's crime number one, I would think, as operating on someone without permission, even someone as deceitful as this young woman, should be a serious offense. Unfortunately, that's not where the story ends as Hanasani continues:
When she woke up, I explained what I had done, and why I had done it. I gave her two choices: I could call the police and turn her in, or she could meet with the real Julie Harris in our recovery suite, and attempt to work something out.
"Harris" obviously chose option #2, which ultimately turned out to be the wrong choice. After their 'meeting', Hanasani went to check on "Harris" an hour later, he reported, and found her dead. He explained:
"At first, I thought she died from complications from the surgery, so I called the police. They discovered, however, that she had been suffocated to death, after which I explained the entire story to them. When they came back to my office, they explained that they had gone to the real Julie Harris' house, who admitted to smothering her to death.
As it stands, Hanasani is being charged with Aggravated Assault for operating on Harris without permission, and Involuntary Manslaughter, as he invited the real Harris to come visit with the fake without proper supervision of the visit.
Harris is being charged with First Degree Murder.
While I certainly don't condone the actions of either person, I can understand the anger of Hanasani, and the rage of Harris. We'll never be privy to the conversation between the two women, or if Harris simply killed her upon seeing her. Hanasani explained that the woman seemed contrite, and was going to try and find a way to pay the real Harris back. But whether she was able to explain this to Harris will never be known, as her actions lead directly to thousands of dollars lost she was never able to retrieve, and indirectly to the loss of her marriage.
What I can't fathom is the actions of either person, with so much to lose. Hanasani will at least, I'd fathom, lose his license to practice, and face certain jail time if convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter, although I don't quite agree with the Manslaughter charge. I'm not a legal expert, but I imagine it was added to ensure that, if his defense team cuts a deal of some kind, jail time will be certain for his "role" in her death.
I also question the first degree murder charge to Harris. Did she go to the medical suite, planning to smother the woman to death? I doubt it. Was it something she said that set Harris off, or was just the sight of her enough to set her off? Her trial will tell, I imagine, as her testimony is truly the only thing that can truly explain.
The one thing I know to be certain is this: Everyone loses here. A woman lost her life, a plastic surgeon is going to lose his practice, at least, and a mother of three who has already lost so much is going to lose her freedom.
If you were Hanasani and Harris, seperately, how would you have confronted the "fake Harris", given the chance?
Does the charge of involuntary manslaughter fit here for Hanasani?
How about the first degree charge murder for Harris?
This is one of the most bizarre, twisted stories I've ever come across in my life, with deplorable actions by all three human beings here. Hanasani seems the least guilty, as it seems his intention(after repossesing her breasts, anyway) was to broker peace between the fake and real Harris. But the real Harris killed a helpless, likely quite weak "fake Harris", and the "fake Harris" was an unrepentant con artist who blamed her childhood and abusive boyfriends for stealing identities.
All other thoughts and discussion of this screwed up story is welcome here.