Post by qnx100 on Oct 14, 2005 12:08:36 GMT -5
Source: The Journal News, Saturday, August 13, 2005
(I don't know why, but somehow this strikes me funny.)
Woman admits lies about being doctor
By ROB RYSER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: August 13, 2005)
BEDFORD — The mother and the 22-year-old son she has cared for since he was paralyzed in a Fox Lane High School lacrosse game in 2001 expressed shock yesterday to learn that a family friend who intervened to stop a foreclosure and counseled them through scary times lied about being a psychiatrist.
The friend, Lucille Legato of Bedford Hills, who identified herself in a story in yesterday's edition of The Journal News as Dr. Lucille Klein, admitted yesterday that she has never attended medical school and that she is not a doctor. Klein said she had been "treating" Tony Ciccone and his mother, Linda, since early summer.
Legato apologized for hurt feelings that her lie caused Linda Ciccone and her son, both of whom said yesterday they were certain she was a licensed psychiatrist on staff at Four Winds Hospital in Cross River. A hospital spokeswoman said she was not on staff there.
Legato signed a medical order as if she were a doctor and sent it to the mortgage company testifying that Tony Ciccone could not safely be removed from his retrofitted home.
The company, AMC Mortgage Services, is continuing negotiations with the mother to prevent a foreclosure and is no longer dealing with Legato, a spokesman said yesterday. The company stopped dealing with Legato when she refused to produce her medical license, spokesman Chris Orlando said.
Yesterday at her home, Legato claimed to have university degrees in philosophy and psychology. She produced two framed documents that were not dated or signed, one of which she admitted she had altered with her own words.
The tragedy, according to a cousin of Tony Ciccone who is organizing a fund-raising car wash today in front of his Bedford Hills home, is that Legato may be a liar, but the Ciccones' crisis is all too real.
"If Lucille claimed to be something she is not, I hope it doesn't change the way people feel about the situation Tony is in," said the cousin, Maria Ciccone. "Somebody's lies doesn't change the fact that Tony is in the position he is in, and he does need the community's help."
The family has a lawsuit pending against the Bedford Central School District over the 2001 injury.
Yesterday at his home, which is climate-controlled because his skin cannot regulate its own temperature, Tony Ciccone was playing a computer game with his breath-activated mouse when he was told of Legato's deception.
"I'm a little shocked, actually, because I had a couple sessions with her thinking she was a doctor," said Tony Ciccone, who is paralyzed from the neck down and has limited movement in his biceps.
Legato knows the Ciccones through family relations. Legato's husband, Rocco Legato, said he is a cousin of Tony Ciccone's father, Luigi Ciccone. Several calls to Luigi Ciccone this week were not returned.
Lucille Legato said she lied about being a doctor because she thought it would add credibility to the Ciccones' cause and keep them from being thrown onto the street.
The mother, Linda Ciccone, said she hoped that Legato's deception would not ruin the goodwill in the community.
"Everyone was thinking she was a doctor," Linda Ciccone said. "Oh my God."
(I don't know why, but somehow this strikes me funny.)
Woman admits lies about being doctor
By ROB RYSER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: August 13, 2005)
BEDFORD — The mother and the 22-year-old son she has cared for since he was paralyzed in a Fox Lane High School lacrosse game in 2001 expressed shock yesterday to learn that a family friend who intervened to stop a foreclosure and counseled them through scary times lied about being a psychiatrist.
The friend, Lucille Legato of Bedford Hills, who identified herself in a story in yesterday's edition of The Journal News as Dr. Lucille Klein, admitted yesterday that she has never attended medical school and that she is not a doctor. Klein said she had been "treating" Tony Ciccone and his mother, Linda, since early summer.
Legato apologized for hurt feelings that her lie caused Linda Ciccone and her son, both of whom said yesterday they were certain she was a licensed psychiatrist on staff at Four Winds Hospital in Cross River. A hospital spokeswoman said she was not on staff there.
Legato signed a medical order as if she were a doctor and sent it to the mortgage company testifying that Tony Ciccone could not safely be removed from his retrofitted home.
The company, AMC Mortgage Services, is continuing negotiations with the mother to prevent a foreclosure and is no longer dealing with Legato, a spokesman said yesterday. The company stopped dealing with Legato when she refused to produce her medical license, spokesman Chris Orlando said.
Yesterday at her home, Legato claimed to have university degrees in philosophy and psychology. She produced two framed documents that were not dated or signed, one of which she admitted she had altered with her own words.
The tragedy, according to a cousin of Tony Ciccone who is organizing a fund-raising car wash today in front of his Bedford Hills home, is that Legato may be a liar, but the Ciccones' crisis is all too real.
"If Lucille claimed to be something she is not, I hope it doesn't change the way people feel about the situation Tony is in," said the cousin, Maria Ciccone. "Somebody's lies doesn't change the fact that Tony is in the position he is in, and he does need the community's help."
The family has a lawsuit pending against the Bedford Central School District over the 2001 injury.
Yesterday at his home, which is climate-controlled because his skin cannot regulate its own temperature, Tony Ciccone was playing a computer game with his breath-activated mouse when he was told of Legato's deception.
"I'm a little shocked, actually, because I had a couple sessions with her thinking she was a doctor," said Tony Ciccone, who is paralyzed from the neck down and has limited movement in his biceps.
Legato knows the Ciccones through family relations. Legato's husband, Rocco Legato, said he is a cousin of Tony Ciccone's father, Luigi Ciccone. Several calls to Luigi Ciccone this week were not returned.
Lucille Legato said she lied about being a doctor because she thought it would add credibility to the Ciccones' cause and keep them from being thrown onto the street.
The mother, Linda Ciccone, said she hoped that Legato's deception would not ruin the goodwill in the community.
"Everyone was thinking she was a doctor," Linda Ciccone said. "Oh my God."