Episode 228: Dr. Ricardo Cruciani

From 2002 to 2017, 63-year-old Dr. Ricardo Cruciani practices medicine as an esteemed anesthesiologist, neurologist, and pain management specialist. He works in multiple renowned medical facilities where he treats patients with severe chronic pain by providing them with extremely high doses of prescription opioid painkillers. Cruciani’s work in pain management is widely lauded, and his peers consider him a gifted physician. But, in 2016, Cruciani’s employer receives eight complaints about his behavior. Reports indicate that he is sexually inappropriate toward his female patients. By September 2017, Cruciani is arrested on the charges of indecent exposure, indecent assault, and more. Dozens of former female patients come forward, claiming that Cruciani purposefully overprescribed them powerful painkillers so that they would develop an opioid addiction. Then, Cruciani leveraged his patients’ need for opioids to force them into unwanted sexual acts. In episode 228, Jac and Alexis delve into how Cruciani escaped justice for over fifteen years.