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hospital changed its name to
Northern Community Hospital in 1979. By 1981 the decision was made to close the hospital, as only a third of its patient beds were filled and the hospital was losing a quarter of a million dollars annually. Efforts to turn the site into an alcohol rehabilitation center were turned down and the site became a target of vandalism. A 300-bed nursing home was proposed to fill the empty site of the demolished building.
171:. At trial, in 1978, two of the murder counts were dismissed for lack of evidence. Brown filed a subpoena requesting that Farber turn over all of his notes and other writings related to 193 potential witnesses in the case, what Farber would later call "the broadest subpoena ever issued to an American reporter". After 34 weeks of testimony, Jascalevich was acquitted by jurors on October 24, 1978.
225:
voluntarily surrendered his license in 1976 after being indicted in the criminal case for which he was later acquitted. The state found fraudulently prepared operation records in one case, and in another that he had made a diagnosis of cancer that "he knew or should have known" was false. Both patients had been admitted to Christ
Hospital and had been from
159:
The Bergen County grand jury issued an indictment on May 18, 1976, charging
Jascalevich with the deaths of five patients – Emma Arzt (age 70), Frank Biggs (age 59), Margaret Henderson (age 26), Carl Rohrbeck (age 73) and Nancy Savino (age 4) – and having injected them with curare to kill
133:
Farber's investigations led him to try to contact the families of the potential victims, in some cases notifying relatives for the first time that the deaths had been deemed suspicious. His attempts to contact
Jascalevich, then in private practice, were all unsuccessful despite repeated letters,
129:
had come to the conclusion at the time that hard evidence did not exist to move further with the case. When Farber contacted
Calissi in 1975, Calissi called the claim that the circumstances of the deaths were plausible to be "horsesh-t" and remained convinced that his suspicions in the case were
109:
Farber pursued the case by speaking with someone in the forensic toxicology field who was able to recall a case at
Riverdell Hospital, a private medical facility that had since closed. Further investigation led to the identification of Dr. Mario Jascalevich as the hospital's chief surgeon. While
87:
The investigation was commenced on
November 1, 1966, after eighteen vials of curare – most nearly empty – were found in a locker assigned to Dr. Mario Jascalevich. When confronted, he explained that he had been experimenting with dogs. No motive could be ascertained for homicide. Ten
258:
in
Oradell was demolished. A former administrator of the hospital told a newspaper reporter that admissions had dropped significantly once the hospital and doctor were identified in the media, and that the hospital's ability to attract qualified physicians had been severely harmed. The 80-bed
224:
In
October 1980, the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners revoked Jascalevich's license to practice medicine in the State of New Jersey, finding by a vote of 11–0 that Jascalevich was guilty of "gross malpractice or gross negligence and failure of good moral character". Jascalevich had
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phone calls and even attempts to approach him outside of his offices. Farber tried to follow up on
Jascalevich's statement in his 1966 deposition that the curare had been used in experiments on dying dogs, but was unable to get any confirmation that dogs had been supplied to him as described.
150:
Bergen County Prosecutor Woodcock opened an independent investigation, exhuming the bodies of five possible victims, none of whom had been administered curare during their surgical procedures. Using new technologies, investigators found traces of curare in three of the bodies.
110:
Jascalevich's surgical patients routinely survived, those of a new surgeon were dying at a significantly high rate. This new surgeon, together with directors of the hospital, opened Jascalevich's locker on October 31, 1966, and found 18 near empty vials of
125:. Farber was given the opportunity to review the files from the 1966 investigation, and found a comment from Calissi that said that "someone is lying". Though Calissi's suspicions were strong, he and his assistant
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received a letter from a woman claiming that as many as 40 patients had been murdered at a hospital by its chief surgeon. The letter handed to reporter
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147:, the largest paper in the area, picked up the story, covering it with as many as 13 reporters. Other papers nationwide picked up the story as well.
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offered no information as to where the alleged murders had occurred or who the murderer was, if there was anything at all to the letter.
84:. The patients had been admitted to the hospital for surgery and died of unrelated causes, before or after routine surgical procedures.
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395:"Guy W. Calissi, 71, Retired Judge And a Jersey Prosecutor, Is Dead; College Scholarship Yielded Byrne Made 1970 Appointment"
32:-born physician, Mario Enrique Jascalevich (August 27, 1927 — September 1984), in 1976. He was acquitted at trial in 1978.
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in 1962 and developed a surgical stapler that was named for him. At the time of his murder trial, he was a resident of
535:
251:, was planning efforts to file for return of the additional $ 185,000 that had been assessed in civil contempt fines.
114:, a powerful muscle relaxant that could cause death if not administered in conjunction with artificial respiration.
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on August 27, 1927. After completing his medical training in Argentina, he came to the United States to perform an
118:
73:
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275:, aged 57, although the death was not reported to the public for several months, until an obituary appeared in
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After losing his license to practice medicine, Jascalevich returned to Argentina. He died in September 1984 in
49:
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167:, an assistant prosecutor who was four years out of law school. Jascalevich was represented by attorney
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279:. The deaths at Riverdell remain unsolved although Jascalevich is assumed by some to have been guilty.
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in January 1976, referring to the unidentified physician as "Dr. X", and caused a media stir.
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years passed before the state charged Jascalevich with five counts of murder, in May 1976.
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issued a pardon to reporter M.A. Farber and ordered that $ 101,000 in fines be returned to
229:. At the time that his New Jersey license was taken away, Jascalevich was practicing in
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hospital. A newspaper investigation during the mid-1960s led to the indictment of an
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80:, launched an investigation of nine suspicious deaths at Riverdell Hospital in
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in 1955, setting up his practice in New Jersey. He was hired as a surgeon by
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446:"Sybil R. Moses, Prosecutor and Longtime New Jersey Judge, Dies at 69"
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them. Once brought to trial, two of the murder counts were dismissed.
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accurate that there had been criminal actions involved in the deaths.
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376:"Dr. Mario E. Jascalevich Dies; Jersey Surgeon in 'Dr. X' Case"
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The results of Farber's investigation were first published in
316:
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323:"Serial homicide by doctors: Shipman in perspective"
465:"Raymond A. Brown, Civil Rights Lawyer, Dies at 94"
517:"The Other Jascalevich Cases Are Finally Settled"
121:prosecutor's office and its chief at the time,
544:, January 20, 1982. Accessed October 19, 2009.
525:, October 12, 1980. Accessed October 19, 2009.
473:, October 11, 2009. Accessed October 12, 2009.
454:, January 24, 2009. Accessed October 20, 2009.
403:, December 9, 1980. Accessed October 19, 2009.
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183:Carl Rohrbeck, age 73, died December 13, 1965
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435:, September 2005. Accessed October 19, 2009.
117:The hospital reported their findings to the
96:The case had lain dormant for a decade when
563:, June 24, 1984. Accessed October 19, 2009.
384:, April 3, 1985. Accessed October 19, 2009.
321:Herbert G. Kinnell (23–30 December 2000).
201:Mary Muentener, age 80, September 1, 1966.
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333:(7276). BMJ Publishing Group: 1594–1597.
536:"Byrne Returns $ 101,000 Fine to Times"
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189:Margaret Henderson, 26, April 23, 1966.
204:Emma Arzt, age 70, September 23, 1966.
20:were a series of suspicious deaths by
595:Unsolved murders in the United States
233:with a valid New York State license.
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254:In June 1984, Riverdell Hospital on
198:Frank Biggs, age 59, August 27, 1966
186:Nancy Savino, age 4, March 21, 1966.
590:Serial murders in the United States
195:Ira Holster, age 64, July 29, 1966.
207:Eileen Shaw, 36, October 23, 1966.
14:
580:1966 murders in the United States
192:Edith Post, age 62, May 17, 1966.
72:In 1966, authorities with the
1:
62:Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
555:"ORADELL HOSPITAL IS RAZED"
163:The prosecution was led by
611:
483:Farber, M.A (1976-05-20).
179:Possible victims include:
339:10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1594
119:Bergen County, New Jersey
74:Bergen County, New Jersey
26:Bergen County, New Jersey
247:. The paper's attorney,
50:Passaic General Hospital
40:Jascalevich was born in
24:poisoning, in 1966 at a
327:British Medical Journal
227:Jersey City, New Jersey
92:Newspaper investigation
427:"On Not Naming Names "
238:Governor of New Jersey
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76:prosecutor, including
534:Friendly, Johnathan.
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68:Initial investigation
585:Murder in New Jersey
515:Altman, Lawrence K.
273:cerebral hemorrhage
58:Oradell, New Jersey
560:The New York Times
553:Parisi, Albert J.
541:The New York Times
522:The New York Times
489:The New York Times
470:The New York Times
451:The New York Times
400:The New York Times
381:The New York Times
277:The New York Times
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99:The New York Times
54:Riverdell Hospital
444:Grimes, William.
289:John Bodkin Adams
256:Kinderkamack Road
236:In January 1982,
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374:Berger, Joseph.
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294:Theodore Rinaldo
175:Possible victims
169:Raymond A. Brown
18:"Dr. X" killings
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299:Harold Shipman
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78:Guy W. Calissi
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104:M. A. Farber
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42:Buenos Aires
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432:Smithsonian
165:Sybil Moses
574:Categories
502:2022-12-30
305:References
144:The Record
46:internship
497:0362-4331
485:"'Dr. X'"
245:The Times
231:the Bronx
139:The Times
30:Argentina
357:11124192
283:See also
348:1119267
271:from a
82:Oradell
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112:curare
36:Career
22:curare
263:Death
155:Trial
493:ISSN
353:PMID
16:The
343:PMC
335:doi
331:321
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48:at
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