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| Photo Credit: AP. |
A doctor who sexually abused patients died of an apparent suicide Monday in a New York City jail following his conviction last month, according to reports.
Dr. Ricardo
Cruciani, 68, a neurologist was found dead in a shower area at the Eric M.
Taylor Center, a jail at the notorious Rikers Island complex, two people
familiar with the matter said, according to The Associated Press.
Why did Cruciani killed himself?
In a
statement Cruciani’s attorney Frederick Sosinsky confirmed the incident.
“Ricardo’s
attorneys and family are shocked and saddened beyond belief to have learned of
his violent death while in city custody this morning,” he said, according to
The Associated Press.
Sosinsky
called for “an immediate and objective investigation” into the circumstances of
Cruciani’s death, including whether jail officials complied with a court order,
following his conviction to place him in protective custody under suicide
watch.
“Neither of
these conditions were, to our knowledge, ever complied with,” Sosinsky said,
The Associated Press reported. “Had they been, we would not be having this
terrible discussion.”
What was Cruciani convicted of?
Cruciani was
convicted of 12 counts, including predatory sexual assault, rape and sex abuse.
He was acquitted on two other count and was facing life in prison in a
sentencing scheduled for September.
The convict
was also scheduled to go on trial next January on federal charges accusing him
of abusing multiple patients over a 15 year period at his offices in New York
City, Philadelphia and Hopewell, New Jersey, according to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors
accused Cruciani of grooming vulnerable patients by overprescribing pain
killers, sometimes to treat serious injuries from car crash and other accidents.
The
Associated Press reported that six women testified that the sexual abuse often
occurred behind closed doors during appointments in 2013 at a Manhattan medical
center, where the doctor often exposes himself and demand sex.
The fire
department said it responded to a call of an inmate unconscious at the jail
around 5:50 a.m., adding that paramedics tried to resuscitate the inmate but
all efforts failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene.