A prominent Manhattan neurologist convicted of raping and drugging six female patients and letting them watch him masturbate hanged himself on Riker’s Island early Monday.
Ricardo Cruciani, 67, who was convicted by a Manhattan jury last month of four counts of sexual abuse after six of his former patients testified against him, was found hanged in a shared shower area at the Eric M. Taylor Center.
Cruciani was reportedly standing in a chair and using a piece of cloth to hang himself, sources told The New York Daily News.
The doctor, convicted on July 21, was due to appear in court on September 14 and faced a life sentence.
Prosecutors alleged that Cruciani was a master manipulator who exploited his victims’ psyches, giving them heavy doses of painkillers in order to rape and molest them. He also forced her to watch him masturbate.
One of his victims, a disabled woman, testified that Cruciani told them that if anyone spoke up, he would kill himself.
Prosecutor Shannon Lucey called Cruciana “the bad guy in a white coat,” according to a report.
Ricardo Cruciani (pictured) sits with his attorneys on the Manhattan Supreme Court as his trial begins in the sex abuse case against him, in which several women allege he addicted them to painkillers and then sexually abused them for several years
A general view shows the Rikers Island facility on June 6, 2022. – Rikers has long been known for unsanitary conditions and violence, but after deaths that included suicide, drug overdoses and medical emergencies, Rikers is set to become arguably its most intense trial ever exposed . Last month, a local court found that the Department of Correction (DOC) had been disregarded for denying detainees access to medical care
Authorities said Cruciani left a trail of victims at a number of medical facilities in different states.
His allegations date back to 2013 when he was at Beth Israel near Union Square, a hospital now known as Mt. Sinai-Union Square.
His ex-wife named Nora, a pediatrician, was by his side throughout his case.
He exploited and manipulated his patients, using his background in psychiatry to get close to patients and ask them intimate questions about their childhood and personal life.
Cruciani reportedly stroked their hair and complimented them before forcefully kissing and fondling them and forcing the women to have sex with him.
“Ricardo Cruciani has abused his power as a medical practitioner and knowingly taken advantage of his patients’ pain,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“We trust doctors to respect our bodies and health when we ask them for help, but Dr. Cruciani was in complete breach of that duty,” he continued in the press release.
Cruciani, who had offices in Manhattan, also operated in Hopewell, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he subjected his patients to years of abuse and trauma, according to federal and local authorities.
Before his death, he was facing a federal trial scheduled for next year.
In that case, Cruciani was charged with enticement and incitement to travel and engage in unlawful sexual activity on five counts, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years, Law & Crime reported.
Between 2002 and 2017, Cruciani allegedly abused his patients and exploited his access to opioids.
Federal prosecutors said he “persuaded, instigated, seduced and coerced certain victims to travel across state lines to subject or attempt to subject them to unlawful sexual abuse,” the news agency reported.
Cruciani, who has worked in the medical field for more than three decades, also served as chair of the Department of Neurology at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He also worked with the Capital Institute for Neurosciences in Hopewell Township, New Jersey.
When a federal defendant dies, prosecutors must file papers with the court to say they are no longer contesting the case.
Since his death, Cruciani’s case, which was located in the Southern District of New York, is soon dismissed.