Dr Michael Mastromarino’s wife Barbra Mastromarino tells her story of how her life fell apart. Barbra married Dr Michael Mastromarino. The Mastromarino couple lived in Manhattan and had 2 children. Slowly, Dr Mastromarino’s personal problems began to surface.
One day, Mrs Mastromarino was informed Michael passed out in his office with a syringe in his arm. Barbra discovered Michael had a drug problem.
In 2000, Mrs Mastromarino was searching for her husband at night when she found him. Dr Mastromarino was stopped by police for something and there was a woman with him. Mrs Mastromarino discovered her husband cheated on her.
Dr Mastromarino lost his medical license so he started a business selling body tissue and bone for transplants.
In Feb 2006, Dr Mastromarino was arrested when he was accused of stealing human body parts from dead people. Some victims whose parts were harvested had hepatitis, HIV and cancer. Receivers of diseased body parts were at risk of contacting disease. Thousands of patients who received diseased body parts had their health compromised.
Mastromarino was convicted and sentenced to 25 – 75 years in prison for stealing, forgery, grand larceny and corruption.
Barbra Mastromarino appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to talk about her past marital life. BM presented herself as a victim of her husband’s manipulation. Maybe Winfrey’s researchers for the Mastromarino story should do a followup program on some of Mastromarino’s real victims who are now suffering because of his ruthlessness.
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I received a bone graft back in 2001 at Emory-Dunwoody and was tested for HIV,Hep C and many other diseases prior to my surgery as I had given blood to be stored (in case I needed it) and was given a clean bill of health at that time(which I already knew after having gone through several surgeries prior to this one.
Last year,I moved back to Ga after living a Fl for 5 years.The day I got here,my whole body began to swell and I was in intense pain. I was admitted to Piedmont in Atl and was tested for a number of diseases.After a week in the hospitol,I was diagnosed with Hep C,type 2 and with what they (the Drs.) thought was RA.
I don’t drink and lead a very healthy lifestyle which puzzled me and my Drs. as to how I contracted a rare form of Hep C. I was asked by one Dr. there if I had received my bone graft at Emory-Dunwoody between 2001 and 2005…..I replied that I did but he nevered offered any explanation for his question.
I just saw an episode of American Greed last night and put 2 and 2 together,remembering the question about my bone graft.I have been reading about this guy all afternoon and am now wondering if this is where my sickness came from.I almost died as a result of this disease and as of yet have refused to let my GI do a biopsy on my liver to see how badly its damaged.I have just finished Hep C treatments (rough,very rough). I’ll always have this disease and theres no guarantees as to my quality of life or how long I’ll live.
I’m still contemplating moving to NY so I can commit a crime myself just to get locked up with this guy……
He is aware of the impact his actions have had, in every aspect. Denise he told me about you from the beginnin of our relationship. You do not know the man he is now. he is accountable and remorseful. And the idea that Barbra had no idea what was going on is ridiculous. Think she was blind to the huge freezer in the garage? She was fined for her part in the business and had to turn over her home. She has pimped herself out to any lowgrade cable channel willing to listen to her whine. He has done no interviews. She says she is ashamed but she is out there every chance she gets. Who cares that she cant go to the spa and shop everyday. That is what gets her upset, the lofestyle she had.
There was a judges ruling that only a few could claim being sick. He has been brutally honest with me from the beginning. We had not spoke since the late 90′s.I reached out once finding out about the mess made. Had no idea of the depth of his actions and he told me to read the story and told me the rest.
Before you judge a man pushed by a wife demanding a certain lifestyle, look at the whole thing. He is a good man who knows his actions changed EVERYTHING!!!!
I look forward to having him in my life. The man he is now. Kind, loving, aware, and humble. We speak every day and he is a blessing. God gives us chances and he has taken advantage of his.
I am not a past girlfriend, just a friend from the past that now is going to spend life with Michael as mine. We are one. I know who he was and I know who he is now. And that is why I love him.
Barbra should be ashamed for not allowing their boys contact him. He writes and they NEVER get the letters. That is wrong. She really should be ashamed.
Denise, don’t be a fool. you appear slightly intelligent. He is in his own hell. And he knows he put himself there.
I saw Barbra on “Who The (Bleep) Did I Marry?” and also read her segment online on “O”. The story fascinated and horrified me for myriad reasons. My own father led a double life and until his death my mother, sisters and I didn’t know much about who he really was. My parents divorced when I was sixteen and a friend of the family told my mother my father was having an affair with his young secretary. Up until that time, we moved a great deal, living in upper middle class neighborhoods in beautiful upscale homes, attending the best schools and going on luxury vacations. We never wanted for anything. I went to Northwestern University and my father lived in Chicago so he took me out to expensive restaurants on weekends while I was a college student. My father died when he was only fifty and I flew to Florida where he was living to make funeral arrangements and handle his affairs. What I discovered was shocking. My father was a sociopath. He kept files in a locked filing cabinet and when I went through them I was shocked and disturbed. He had bilked many elderly women out of their fortunes in multilevel marketing schemes. There were tearful letters from them begging for their money back saying they would not be able to afford to live in retirement homes and had nowhere to go. Worse still, I found a file with prison records for theft and pedofilia. In his closet I found boxes filled with sex toys (far beyond the norm) and pornography that included animal bestiality and child pornography. I found a journal my father had written documenting years of child sexual and physical abuse by his uncle and maternal grandmother and also his sexual abuse of me! Abuse I had completely repressed. (I have since been in therapy for many years and am doing better.) After discovering all this and more, I called many names in my father’s address books and found out he had been having affairs since I was six years old. There were many mistresses. The reason we moved all the time wasn’t because he was “transferred,” as he told my mother, but because he was caught embezzling funds and fired! My mother was as shocked if not more than I was! He was a sociopath and none of us knew this. I have a background in journalism and psychology from one of the best universities in the country and have an upstanding professional career. Believe me, it is more than possible when you are close and enmeshed with an intimate tie to be unaware of just who you are living with. I feel great compassion for everyone grievously harmed by Michael Mastromarino and his colleagues malfeasance and wish you all well. I was also greatly affected in a medical malpractice incident that left me with CNS lupus, so well understand what it is like to feel bitter. Rightly so. May your health improve. All the best to the Mastromarino children and may Barbra rebuild her life and psyche. Regardless of why she went on Oprah (since I see others have questioned her motives!), I think it was wonderful because it will help other women spot sociopathic behavior.
what is your sons name???? i think i know him, is he in 9th grade now? please, i really want to talk to him again, and so does my other friend. at least tell him we miss him!!!
Barbra,
I feel really bad for you, I believe you DID NOT know what your husband was doing…….
Hang in there, your a beautiful person that will be ok!!!!
The one thing you all seem to be missing is that Michael Mastromarino accepted his fate,showed true remorse and is now serving his time. Of Corse he is a sociopath.Most highly intelligent people are. It is possible that Michael was doing whatever he had to,to provide for his family. Barbra knew,period! Common sence please. Now she plays victim. Selling her story. She is no angel. He does not do interviews seeking pity. Her lies and behavior are VULGAR!!
I wanna know her email address if it is possibe
10x
She knew all about it believe me I know. She should be in jail with him. May they each suffer in this life and the next. Hope you enjoyed you time being rich at the cost of our families and health!!!!
For those insensitive individuals who choose to cast stones…shame on them…to all of the victims…my deepest condolences…I personally knew Michael and Barbra very well…yes it is quite possible to not know your spouses” “goings on”…Michael had an unusual way of reinventing himself and Barbra was a believer..Her behavior simply shows authenticity. love for her family and genuine pain..Remember the cream always rises to the top…I am with you Barbs..xo
I still do not agree with what you are saying about his family. Why did she HAVE to know what was going on? Mastromarino is exceptionally intelegent. He was a very successful dentist and found a niche in a market that was uuntapped. Unfortunatly he went about it the wrong way and has made very bad decisions as most sociopaths do. So I think she didn’t know what was going on. The point is she may or may not have known, we will probably never know. Once again back to his kids, how can you say they “profited” from his wrong doing? THEY ARE KIDS! They don’t know any better, they just think daddy makes a lot of money. No offence to you or anything, but you seem a little out there and semi extreme. Is it fair for me to say your child is just like you? No! Because I don’t know your child. Not every child is a replica of their parents, in fact most are not. Oh and the clear up the anonymous thing, I was just too lazy to fill it out and didnt think it was that important
My Dear Anonymous!
First,mea culpa. My bad, even I am incorrect on that rare occasion. Your nom de guerre is anonymous, but I did not mean to malign your anonymous identity in any way! Forgiveness Please!! (Hear that dripping noise? Yes, dripping with sarcasm.)
Seriously though, I actually somewhat agree w your first point. The net needs to be cast a bit wider, but I would hope that the investigating people are following the money. Follow the money and find the crime, as they say.
As for the second point, you are sorely mistaken. I hope I can assume you have followed the story closely as you yourself have stated? Have you not read the NYDailyNews.com coverage? There seem to have been severe biological and personal consequences resulting from this modern-day grave robbing. The news media states one woman may have contracted hepatitis. Then again, she may have contracted hepatitis elsewhere, and may have intentionally or mistakenly associated her current condition with the current scandal.
Regardless, people are paying a price, sometimes concrete and sometimes other intangible costs. I do have a science background (I went to Holiday Inn!! jk) , I am aware that the lifespan of the hepatitis B/C/etc outside of the human body is roughly 15 minutes to a half hour, dependent upon environmental and local conditions. The infectious effect of blood-borne pathogens also requires more direct and immediate contact. For example, during unprotected sex, bad blood transfusion and the sharing of IV drugs. Thus, time and circumstance do make it UNLIKELY that viruses and other pathogens (I’m not sure about the cancer tainted samples, I’m not an oncologist.) survived whatever process Mastromartino was using. Therein lies the problem, nobody knows what process, if any, he was using. He is known not to have used accepted sterilization procedures. There are too many unknowns. This is grave-robbing (Which has been around as long as there have been graves to rob.) with a disturbing modern twist. The twist is this, tissue of unknown origins implanted into living humans. For all intents and purposes, these people are experimental guinea pigs. We will find out what happens in these horrible cases by watching and observing what happens to these people over time.
As for the wife and children, coldly enough, they profited and financially prospered for a while from this heinous crime. The wife does bear some responsibility, she had to reasonably know that something rotten was going on. And she closed her eyes from the ugly sight, pinched her nose from the nasty smell and closed her ears to reason and left her conscience to starve. Anonymous, my child is in a gifted class, with honors in that too. Mostly, I am proud my child is a good and decent and strong person. These people are not, they profited from suffering and cruelty. They truly are different from you and me in the most fundamentally human way possible. If discrimination is ever acceptable, it is only against people such as these, those who have declared their own malicious war of “one against all”. Mark my words, his son will do something terrible in the future to other innocent victims just like his father did. At this point, one would hope that that kid’s mission in life should be to redeem the family name with good deeds and self-sacrifice. Otherwise, I still say we put them all on a rocketship straight to the sun!
Ghoulish,
No, I am not Barbara nor do I know her. I have found this case very facinating from the minute it hit the newstands just for the fact that he got away with it for as long as he did. I am not saying what Mastromarino did was right, all I was saying is that there are more people to blame than soley him and they should be sitting in jail right next to him. I also think it was taken a little too far. There has been no confirmations of any diseases contracted from his tissue. Should he have taken the parts without consent? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Were these people dead already and could their tissue save someone elses life? Yes! As far as his wife goes, maybe she is just as screwed up as he is but I don’t think it is fair to make an assumption that she is when the public knows nothing about this women. Her appearence on Oprah was pretty rediculous but other than that she gives us no reason to view her as a narcissistic sociopath. And the comment toward there kid, 2 words…F**ked UP! Who are you to make a comment like that about a child that is in the sitatuion he is in? Would the kid be a narcissistic sociopath as well? Even though your next comment says I take that back, its too late. I feel bad for his kids. From what it looked like on Oprah, they seemed to have a pretty comforable life. Now they have nothing and no father to boot. Soooo unfortunatly you are not as good at solving mysteries as you thought.
Actually, I feel bad about the comment I made toward the kid. Who knows what kind of madness and craziness he witnessed growing up? Maybe the home environment was so toxic, the kid never had a chance at being normal. In that case, he should be counseled and a close eye kept on him. Just in case the body part doesn’t fall far from the cadaver…
Both Michael and his wife are narcissistic sociopaths. His kid will probably end up being a sociopath as well. It’s too bad we can’t just kick them all out of the gene pool and off of the planet, if you know what I mean. Their lives are ruined, however. Barbara and the Mastromarino kids will have to live with the shame of being associated with Dr. Ghoul/Grave-robber/Body(parts)Snatcher, etc. I wonder who “anonymous” really is, I don’t care who sally is (no offense). Anonymous seems to have taken up the contrarian, minority view. Unfortunately, that view is contrary to logic and seems to be in the insane minority. That is, no person on this earth and in their right mind would defend either this man or this woman. Unless there is a personal bias. I think anonymous is Barbara herself or close family member. (Am I good or what? Yeah, go MENSA! I solve problems and mysteries baby!!)
i went to elementary school with his kid and hes a dick and now know him in high school. Epic deuche
Whoa lady take it easy. Who cares if she knew. She wasn’t the one who got high and messed up your surgery. It sounds to me like you may be a little jelous. What? were you one of the women he slept with?
how funy how fix this is it wont let me leave a coment
yes barbara you knew cause you know who I am
Barbara ”” how can You go on national televition and lie, you know as well as his friends did, what your husband was doing back in aug,of 2000 michael left me on the table, for hrs and went to get high
and after that I had many complication, I tried getting in touch with him, and everyone was covering his shit..frances bruno and william bongiorno called you and told you what he had done to me and you paid me a visit at my store and even bought a gown from me.. you wanted to know all the details..and you knew back then that he had an affair with his secretary and you knew that he was gettin high
and also when he was loosing his license u knew he was running around with certain people,,and how strange he comes back to make all this money and dont question it witch its funny, cause he was a bit of a show off so u knew he was up to no good but you loved the life he was provideing you, and went along with it even if he cheated on you…so dont act like mother theresa….you as much as him screwed us all ..I am still goin through surgerys for the damgae he caused me,,,,
She knew and she was wronged like you but in a different way. I won’t try to understand or relate to the problems some of you may be dealing with but this woman needs to get the message out there on many fronts and hopefully it helps others along the way. God bless you all.
Anonymous,
First of all, learn some grammar! I’m sure Mastromarino’s wife did not know a lot of things about what he was doing, but for YOU to say that he “Helped” us is just ignorant! The bone and tissue I have caused infection and screwed up my entire nervous system. It only made my medical issues worse, not better. Stick to something you know and leave this subject alone!
All of you need to back off of her. Many of you believe that she knew everything that when on, when I can almost guarentee your husbands are cheeting on you and haven’t the slightest clue. Love is blind and everyone knows that. Mastromarino has done terrible things and has affected a lot of lives but to say that you now have breast cancer and he is the reason for it is very inaccurate. Do not get me wrong, I am terribly sorry that you have been diagnosed with cancer but I you and I both know that he was not the cause of it. Every person that has received his tissue has a cival case against him, but when you think about it he has saved more lives than he has hurt…and I do believe the FDA has a lot more to do with this than people think. Trust me, they hid a lot to keep them from public scrutany. I just don’t understand how you can all put a price on your life. You are all ok and you know it. Instead of being gready and petty and constantanly complaining about the same thing on every website, count your blessings. You are alive and the man responcible for your well being is sitting in jail for the next 56 years. THESE PEOPLE WERE DEAD AND THEY SAVED YOUR LIFE! The woman who was on Oprah, I believe her name was Karen, is just looking for money. For her to be so heartless towards Barbra when she is expressing her appologies in front of millions of people is extremely disturbing. All that woman wants is money! If I was THAT upset about having my fathers body parts stollen, I wouldn’t be broadcasting myself all over television. All of us need to wake up and realize how much the living actually need the dead. If we weren’t so selfish and just donated our body when we die, this wouldn’t even be an issue.
I also recieved stolen bone and tissue for my back. I think he got off easy. I live with cronic pain everyday because of what he done. I have also been maried for years and if I found out my husband had a secret life I would have left him instead of staying and pertending their is no problem. SHE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON. There is no dout in my mind.Their is not enough sorry’s in the world to make up for what he did
What Michael Mastromarino did was unforgivable and so unfair to all who were unfortunate enough to have had him touch their lives,but blaming his wife is also unfair..I was Michael’s girlfriend right before Barbara and when I listen to her speak about him I can understand how she thought he was someone he wasnt’..he would do and act anyway needed to ensure his agenga and at this time of his life it was money , family and greed , He was able to make you believe you were the most important person in his life..he was attentive and caring..I knew nothing of the chamelelion he trully was until long after our split..I am conidered by friends as pretty smart yet I remember being devestated at the thought of loosing such a terrific guy who loved kids , family and me. Don’t blame Barbara for Michaels sins, she was just honoring her vows to the man she thought she married. How many married couples really know what goes on in the minds of the person sleeping next to them.
Amazing! It seems obvious that people who have been tragically affected by Mr. Mastomarino feel the need to further his cause by adding more victims to his list. How can anybody judge what was in this womans head, or how she felt or new about her husband. In reading many of these comments you can ascertain that the people associated with this crime merely want to lash out at the nearest person, his wife. Your efforts would be better spent showing up at his periodic parole board hearings to assure he pays for his crimes. Can any of us truly say we “know who we are married to”? Can anyone blame her for enjoying a fair life? I don’t know about you but I definately aspire to be successful and I hope my spouse believes in me, between all my affairs. LOL!
The most tragic element of this is the victims’ pain and suffering. Barbra told Karen she was sorry to all. But, not for Michael himself. The Oprah episode was about helping other people find the signs of your spouse’s secret life. That seems to be what Oprah focused on. To presume she knew is ignorant. Those who throw stones…
I’m with all of you on this. I am also in constant pain from the poor quality bone graft I received in my neck. Most days I feel like I am trying to balance a bowling ball on my neck. I also have breast cancer that I believe came from my bone graft. I am treated like a pariah because of my possible exposure to all these diseases and am sentenced to a life of exile. We got nothing for all our troubles and this woman with a 6000 sq ft warehouse full of “stuff” has the audacity to whine on Oprah about her plight. Spare me. I faced her pathetic husband in court and he is a worthless parasite. Anyone who lived with him had to be aware of what a slime he was and apparently traded her values for “valuables”. May they all rot in hell.
i am a recipient of Michael Mastromarino’s handiwork. There is no way that his wife did not know about what he was doing. I have to live with the fact that I have two pieces of bone in my neck that were taken from a cadavar that was not a donor! My neck will never be like it was before surgery. I have constant pain and discomfort that can only be fixed with another surgery! There is no way in hell that I will let someone do another surgery on my neck. I cannot believe that Barbra would think people would feel sorry for her! I have breast cancer that I believe came from the bone that I received. I am living a nightmare every waking day since that day.
This woman knew what her husband was up to…your 15 minutes are up!!! Go away…may you live in poverty and shame for the rest of your life. I hate your husband for what he did to me..my life is ruined because of him. You should be in prison with him…and anytime someone needs donor tissue it should be taken from you while wide awake to feel the pain
I think after that many years of marriage and after the drug charges from his dentistry that Barbara HAD to know what was going on with her husband’s business. I am a receipient of Mastromarino’s handy work and it has completely changed my life. I will never be the same person I was. I am now on disability due to migraines and Dystonia. My neck doesn’t want to support my head. I think I saw in some of the paper work I received that Barbara was charged $100,000.00 for her part in the crime plus the turning over the personal home. From what I saw she doesn’t look like an ignorant woman. She even admitted she loved her life-style. I believe she is more upset about the affairs than about what he did to so many people. I now have to be tested every 6 months for Hep A,B,C, Aids, HIV and Lymphoma. I also have to be tested yearly for bone cancer. I have NO pitty for her. She is probably on the Oprah and other talk show circuits to get her name out ther so she can write a book and regain her life-style.