NYC jury hears closings at neurologist's sex crimes trial
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City jury was asked Tuesday to consider whether a neurologist used his thriving pain-management practice to sexually prey on six patients or if he is a victim of accusers with false stories.
The case against Dr. Ricardo Cruciani relied on “survivor stories of six very different women,” assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey said in closing arguments at Cruciani’s trial.
“This is a trial about a doctor who raped, sodomized, hugged and manipulated his patients,” Lucey said.
The prosecutor argued the evidence showed that Cruciani groomed patients by overprescribing pain killers, sometimes to treat serious injuries from car wrecks and other accidents.
The accusers testified that the sexual abuse often occurred behind closed doors during appointments in 2013 at a Manhattan medical center, where the doctor would expose himself and demand sex.
“He didn’t finish writing my prescriptions until I did something for him,” one said.
The behavior was “just pure evil,” she said, adding, “This defendant is nothing but a drug dealer who used his prescription pad as a weapon.”
Defense attorney Fred Sosinsky countered by arguing the witnesses were unreliable, telling jurors, “You should have every reason to doubt these accusations.”
He added that the witnesses “were willing to lie” and “dispute the indisputable.”
Hospital records undercut the witness timelines for the assaults and supported defense claims that they were getting proper care, Sosinsky said. The lawyer also cited loving notes some witnesses had written to their alleged assailant, including one that read in part: “I hope you have a nice holiday. … You’ve truly been the best doctor I’ve ever had.”
Cruciani has pleaded not guilty to multiple...