Unlicensed NY doctor pleads guilty in banker death

NEW YORK – An unlicensed Manhattan doctor on Monday pleaded guilty to first degree assault for killing a young New York banker who died after he performed a botched laser surgery on her.

Dean Faiello, 47, had originally been charged with second degree murder and had faced 25 years to life in state prison.

Maria Cruz, a 35-year-old Philippine native worked at Barclay’s Capital as a financial analyst, and died at Faiello’s clinic in April, 2003, after undergoing treatment for a growth on her tongue.

Faiello admitted in Manhattan Supreme Court that when she began convulsing under an anesthetic he had administered, he failed to get her emergency medical aid.

He then stashed her body in a suitcase, sealed it in concrete in his Newark, New Jersey, home and fled to Costa Rica until he was extradited back to New York in May 2005.

Ten months after Cruz vanished, Faiello’s house was sold and Cruz’ body discovered under the concrete slab.

Faiello will be sentenced on November 2 to 20 years in state prison.