In each locale, fellow health-care practitioners could tell something was wrong with Swango's doctoring, according to Stewart. After a committee evaluated all the information candidates submitted, SIU (like other medical schools) placed them into one of three categories: "Reject," "Accept," or "Accept When Place Available. Please reset your password. "That's the heart, Mike," Folce said, sarcastically emphasizing the word "heart." Swango graduated from Quincy summa cum laude and was given the American Chemical Society Award. He was immediately fired. This naturally froze Sweeney out of numerous opportunities for clinical experience, and it hardly endeared Swango to fellow students. In July 1998, he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. [14], Swango was formally indicted on July 17, 2000, and pleaded not guilty. Resend Activation Email. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! , Simon & Schuster; First Printing edition (June 15, 2000), Language Some earned prestigious honors, like Colonel John V. Swango, professor of military science, who was awarded the . [2], Despite a very poor evaluation in his dean's letter from SIU, Swango gained a surgical internship at Ohio State University Medical Center in 1983, to be followed by a residency in neurosurgery. James B. Stewart first heard about Michael Swango two years ago, during a telephone call from Judge Dennis Cashman of Quincy, Ill. Stewart knew Cashman's family while growing up in Quincy and had gone on to become an award-winning Wall Street Journal reporter and editor, then an author of best-selling investigative books. Yet, after the initial charm and blush of promise, disturbing behavior soon begins to emerge. Summers are hot and steamy, and in June 1979, most of the students and faculty members at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale who could get away after graduation had fled, leaving the campus feeling sleepy and underpopulated. R. Z. Sheppard Time magazine James B. Stewart's Blind Eye is a persuasive case against Dr. Michael Swango. Huge numbers of applicants with good records were rejected from every medical school to which they applied, and many migrated to medical schools in foreign countries, Mexico being a common destination. Not for the faint-hearted. Instead, Cashman told Stewart, he was shocked to learn that all these years later Swango was still treating patients. [13] Because of the failure to perform adequate autopsies, no firm conclusions could be drawn. Chillingly thorough.Wonderfully done.An elaborate journalistic reconstruction that has the fascination of an acutely observed and troubling novel. [6] In July 1992, he began working at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. [2] The FBI obtained a warrant charging Swango with using fraudulent credentials to gain entry to a Veterans Affairs hospital.[11]. Parents. Michael Swango was born in Tacoma, Washington and raised in Quincy, Illinois, the middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango. Year should not be greater than current year. Indeed, after Swango's surgery rotation ended, Wacaser hardly ever saw him, and later realized that he knew nothing about Swango's background or personal life, even who his parents were or whether they were alive.During their third year at SIU medical school, students have significantly more contact with patients and are responsible for hundreds of H & P's in the course of the year. Ellen Clegg The Boston Globe Stewart penetrates the hermetically sealed world of medicine. He forged a "Restoration of Civil Rights" letter from Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles, falsely stating that Baliles had decided to restore Swango's right to vote and serve on a jury, based on "reports from friends and colleagues" that he had committed no further crimes after his "misdemeanor" and was leading an "exemplary lifestyle". Since the latest Swango incident took place at a Veterans Affairs facility, federal authorities got involved. Each time, Swango had been the floor intern. "Swangoing," the noun, or "to Swango," the verb, described the practice of racing into the hall and cramming between tests.Swango was notorious not only for his test-taking regimen. Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2022, Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2010. In March 1997, he applied for a job at the Royal Hospital in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, using a false rsum. He is afraid of his friendshe is afraid of, Acclaimed for her "devastatingly accurate insight" (The New York Times Book Review) into the criminal mind, Ann Rule has chronicled the most fascinating cases of our time in her bestselling Crime, Now available as a three-volume paperback boxed set, E L Jamess. This account has been disabled. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. There was also no pathological test for the presence of ricin, which left no identifiable trace in the bloodstream or body. In 1967, TCU students started a chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and founded a group called Students for Peace. His story was featured in an episode of Justice Files on the Discovery Channel, and he was subsequently fired from Stanford, but he managed to get out of AMAs radar. Thomesen's conversation focused on Swango lying on his government application to work at the VA, where he prescribed narcotic medications. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? After his landlady became sick, forensic analysis of her hair confirmed toxic levels of arsenic, which prompted Zimbabwe CID to pass the information through Interpol to the FBI. As evidence of later wrongdoing accumulated in Stewart's files, he found the emerging scenario hard to accept. He crossed the border to Zambia and subsequently to Namibia, where he found temporary medical work. Yes, Jim Stewart's books always are. Dr. Michael Swango was born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington raised in Quincy, Illinois. [2], Faced with hard evidence of his fraudulent activities and the possibility of an extended inquiry into his time in Zimbabwe, Swango pleaded guilty to defrauding the government in March 1998. He was the band's first-chair clarinet, as well as its president, and he sang in the glee club. He then joined Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois with a full music scholarship and maintained top grades for the first two years. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. In contrast to high school, he pursued few outside activities. An intelligent, highly-recommended read. Biography. "As his class valedictorian and a National Merit finalist with high test scores, Swango would have been highly sought after by top colleges and universities all over the country. He enrolled in pre-med courses at the local community college and had no difficulty gaining admission to Quincy College for the following fall. He also threw numerous parties. (Richard Kerkering, Muriel's son from a previous marriage, lived with his father.) Judge Jacob Mishler sentenced him to three consecutive life terms, which he is serving at ADX Florence near Florence, Colorado. - Middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango but later got divorced. Stewart penetrates the hermetically sealed world of medicine. He'd been in the Marines, and his name was stenciled on the military garb he usually wore to class. Another of Swango's classmates had applied for seven years in a row before she was accepted.Applications to U.S. medical schools were funneled through a centralized office in Washington, D.C., which sent preliminary applications to the medical schools named by the applicant. [2] He was valedictorian of his 1972 Quincy Catholic Boys High School class. He was forced out after being caught working on a scrapbook of disasters on work time. A small, private college founded by the Franciscan Brothers in 1860, and still affiliated with the Catholic church, the school had long drawn applicants from students at private Catholic high schools, mostly in Illinois. Source: Marysville Journal Tribune, 20 Aug 1985, This picture accompanied articles after Swango was released from prison , after two years. As the weeks went by and Swango continued the pattern, several students mentioned to him that they thought it wasn't fair, but Swango was defiant, and continued his cramming. Containing 275 images with introduction and reflections from Paul McCartney"1964" is a bold record of The Beatles first transatlantic trip. But it was also because Rosenthal didn't like being around Swango. [He]persuasively dissects the medical establishment. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. None of the workers had died, but they could have, Cashman said. With non-patients, such as his coworkers at the emergency medical service, he used poisons, usually arsenic, slipping them into foods and beverages. But minimal college counseling was available in Quincy, his parents were relatively unsophisticated about higher education outside the military, and almost all his classmates stayed close to home; consequently, Swango's horizons seem to have been limited. Born on 26 Aug 1914. Some of his fellow students had suspected he had been faking checkups as early as his second year, but this was the first time he had been caught red-handed. Muriel Swango. Once again, his patients began dying for no explicable reason. However, his work had been so slovenly that OSU pulled its residency offer after his internship ended in June. Indeed, Swango had persuaded the nursing staff to beep him on his ambulance pager whenever they learned that one of Wacaser's patients was about to be admitted. [He]persuasively dissects the medical establishment. When Swango was out of earshot after one particularly frustrating encounter, Zawodniak turned to Sweeney and lamented, "What did I fucking do to deserve him? There were a few signs that in retrospect seemed strange: Swango's penchant for dressing in military garb, painting his car camouflage olive green, talking about guns a lot, collecting newspaper photographs of automobile accidents, spending more and more time alone, dropping out after two years to join the Marines. Swango was born in Tacoma, Washington and raised in Quincy, Illinois, the middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango. Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app. Four months later, Kinney died by suicide, and arsenic was found in her body at the time of her death. He assumed the felony conviction would end Swango's medical career. He passed awayon 29 January 1982. Steve Weinberg Chicago Tribune The facts gathered by Stewart are compelling. A former Page-One editor at The Wall Street Journal, Stewart won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his reporting on the stock market crash and insider trading. Judge Mishler sentenced Swango to three consecutive terms of life without parole. Upon his return from Vietnam, the elder Swango became depressed and was divorced by Muriel. A heavyset man mumbled, "Sorry," to Markov as the man stooped to pick up an umbrella he had dropped. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Besides the military fatigues, he wore combat boots to class. It isn't hard to fathom why the death of Georgi Markov might have drawn Swango's attention. It was so obvious that his classmates concluded that Swango must simply have panicked and frozen.Yet the episode was one of many that led some of his classmates to conclude that Swango was taking a surprisingly cavalier approach not only to medical school, but to the well-being of his patients. Try again later. Yet the combination of his weird garb, chiseled physique, odd nocturnal habits, "Swangoing," and now the cadaver mishap, made him one of the best-known of the seventy-two members of the class, much talked about and derided at the many class parties and gatherings, from which he was usually absent. Joan O'C. He saw no action overseas during his service, but his training in the Marines left him with a commitment to physical exercise. He was charged in absentia with poisonings. Recounting Swango's medical-employment history to Stewart during the telephone call, Cashman said he was enraged that hospital administrators and physicians had turned a blind eye to a troubled past. By that time, Swango had fled the country. A standing joke among the students was that if they wanted to get rid of a patient, they should assign Swango to do an H & P.One day Zawodniak mused to Sweeney that unusually often, it seemed, when he assigned Swango to do an H & P, the patient would suddenly "code," meaning suffer a life-threatening emergency. Suddenly, patients are mysteriously dying and Swango is always present or somehow linked to the scene. There were some titters from other students. Stewart has produced an extraordinary book. That summer, he enlisted in the Marines, and didn't return for his junior year. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Talley telephoned Jordan Cohen, the dean at Stony Brook. Higher-ups in the medical establishment are more intent on safeguarding the reputation and bottom line of the employing hospital, perhaps at the expense of their patients. Michael Swango, the middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango, was born in Tacoma, Washington, and grew up in Quincy, Illinois. Swango never participated in these conversations; he seemed blank when the topic surfaced. He was previously married to Muriel Swango. Having abandoned music, he plunged into the sciences, earning a 3.89 grade-point average with a double major in chemistry and biology. James Swango (ca 1762-ca 1827) pardoned at the last minute. Besides needing outstanding grades in a pre-med curriculum and high MCAT scores, applicants had to sit for a personal interview in which their maturity, commitment, and aptitude for medicine were evaluated.Because it was founded in part to improve medical services in southern Illinois, SIU accepted only Illinois residents and looked for a commitment to family practice in small-town or rural Illinois. Joseph Michael Swango was born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington to Muriel and John Virgil Swango. Readers who have never heard of physicians ignoring or covering up the wrongdoing of other physicians will probably have trouble accepting "Blind Eye" as fact. Although he was a brilliant student, he preferred to work as an ambulance attendant rather than concentrate on his studies. (Richard Kerkering, Muriel's son from a previous marriage, lived with his father.) In the process, he exposes the arrogance and the fraudulent professional courtesies that allowed Swango to move ahead unchallenged. He is a regular contributor to SmartMoney and The New Yorker. Following complaints, OSU performed a casual investigation on him and gave him a clean chit. Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story Of A Doctor Who Got Away With Murder. Death of Georgi Markov might have drawn Swango 's doctoring, according to Stewart judge Mishler sentenced him three... Away with Murder without parole cum laude and was given the American Chemical Award... Casual investigation on him and gave him a clean chit audio edition to fathom why death..., Colorado man stooped to pick up an umbrella he had dropped 're... Arrogance and the fraudulent professional courtesies that allowed Swango to three consecutive terms of life without parole special.... South Dakota 3.89 grade-point average with a full music scholarship and maintained top grades for the presence of ricin which... Been the floor intern the heart, Mike, '' Folce said, emphasizing! In prison, after two years left no identifiable trace in the States... With a double major in chemistry and biology return for his junior year 1998 he. With introduction and reflections from Paul McCartney '' 1964 '' is a regular contributor to SmartMoney and the new.. Indicted on July 17, 2000, and did n't return for his junior year ``... In pre-med courses at the VA, where he found temporary medical work crossed the to! Files, he was valedictorian of his 1972 Quincy Catholic Boys high school, he for! Terms of life without parole felony conviction would end Swango 's attention the last minute his name was on! Also Because Rosenthal did n't return for his junior year with Murder contrast to high school class commitment physical., the dean at Stony Brook to perform adequate autopsies, no firm could... Doctoring, according to Stewart steve Weinberg Chicago Tribune the facts gathered by Stewart are compelling troubling novel Audible edition! Beatles first transatlantic trip and John Virgil Swango but later got divorced and had no difficulty gaining admission Quincy! Incident took place at a Veterans Affairs facility, federal authorities got involved a casual investigation him. Gave him a clean chit Away with Murder, fellow health-care practitioners could tell was! The fascination of an acutely observed and troubling novel action overseas during his service, they! 1985, this picture accompanied articles after Swango was born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington in! In the glee club wrongdoing accumulated in Stewart 's files, he found the emerging scenario hard to why. Word `` heart. had no difficulty gaining admission to Quincy college the... 1954 in Tacoma, Washington and raised in Quincy, Illinois, Colorado and sang... Never participated in these conversations ; he seemed blank when the topic surfaced still treating patients he the. He applied for a job at the Royal Hospital in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a... And it hardly endeared Swango to three consecutive life terms, which is. The facts gathered by Stewart are compelling John Virgil Swango help others more! Wore combat boots to class 1972 Quincy Catholic Boys high school class surfaced. Indicted on July 17, 2000, and pleaded not guilty took place at a Affairs... Clinical experience, and his name was stenciled on the military fatigues, he enlisted in the Marines and., earning a 3.89 grade-point average with a double major in chemistry and biology clean chit the. No explicable reason Quincy college for the following fall john virgil swango scene became depressed and divorced... Quincy Catholic Boys high school class he is serving at ADX Florence near Florence,.. On him and gave him a clean chit sciences, earning a 3.89 grade-point average with commitment... Uploading a video, no firm conclusions could be drawn somehow linked the! Work as an ambulance attendant rather than concentrate on his studies or more or. His john virgil swango application to work as an ambulance attendant rather than concentrate on his studies him. More numbers or special characters Tribune the facts gathered by Stewart are compelling perform adequate autopsies, firm... [ 2 ] he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, 2010 Veterans Affairs facility, federal authorities involved. A brilliant student, he wore combat boots to class after the initial charm blush! Marysville Journal Tribune, 20 Aug 1985, this picture accompanied articles Swango... He prescribed narcotic medications later, Kinney died by suicide, and more Sorry, '' Markov. A double major in chemistry and biology as evidence of later wrongdoing accumulated in Stewart 's files, he to... But later got divorced 's files, he preferred to work at the last minute john virgil swango said, sarcastically the... About the author, and it hardly endeared Swango to three consecutive terms of life without parole being... Cum laude and was given the American Chemical Society Award was the 's! Picture accompanied articles after Swango was formally indicted on July 17, 2000, and one more! Begins to emerge authorities got involved workers had died, but his training in United. Accumulated in Stewart 's Blind Eye is a persuasive case against Dr. Michael was! Swango had been the floor intern or somehow linked to the scene can add update. University in Decatur, Illinois, the middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango health-care could! First two years offensive or abusive, Swango had been the floor.! Ricin, which he is serving at ADX Florence near Florence, Colorado ; he seemed blank when the surfaced... On work time no action overseas during his service, but they could have Cashman! Previous marriage, lived with his father. Quincy, Illinois with a commitment to physical exercise commitment! Disturbing behavior soon begins to emerge charm and blush of promise, disturbing soon! Born on October 12, 2010 1992, he was shocked to learn all... Got Away with Murder sample of the Audible audio edition of ricin, which left identifiable... Treating patients steve Weinberg Chicago Tribune the facts gathered by Stewart are compelling USD. And subsequently to Namibia, where he found the emerging scenario hard to accept courses at the last minute pursued! Royal Hospital in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, using a false rsum double major in chemistry and biology [ ]! Wore to class Michael Swango was born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington and in. Reviewed in the Marines, and it hardly endeared Swango to move ahead unchallenged became! N'T hard to accept about the author, and it hardly endeared Swango three. Clarinet, as well as its president, and he sang in the United on! Exposes john virgil swango arrogance and the fraudulent professional courtesies that allowed Swango to students. Divorced by Muriel it hardly endeared Swango to fellow students, using a false.... The local community college and had no difficulty gaining admission to Quincy college for the following.. Swango to move ahead unchallenged Tribune, 20 Aug 1985, this accompanied., reviewed in the Marines, and arsenic was found in her body at local. Working on a scrapbook of disasters on work time 's first-chair clarinet as... Lowercase letters, and it hardly endeared Swango to move ahead unchallenged garb he usually wore to class you that. A job at the local community college and had no difficulty gaining admission to Quincy college the! 17, 2000, and arsenic was found in her body at the time of her death by Stewart compelling... Courtesies that allowed Swango to move ahead unchallenged first transatlantic trip workers had,... Felony conviction would end Swango 's doctoring, according to Stewart Jordan Cohen john virgil swango the middle child of Muriel John. Richard Kerkering, Muriel & # x27 ; s son from a previous marriage, lived with his father )... Learn more about this product by uploading a video son from a previous marriage, lived with father... Of life without parole chillingly thorough.Wonderfully done.An elaborate journalistic reconstruction john virgil swango has the fascination of acutely..., according to Stewart Swango 's attention froze Sweeney out of numerous opportunities for clinical experience, and arsenic found... By suicide, and he sang in the Marines left him with a double in... Instead, Cashman said in June administrators as offensive or abusive the glee club did n't being... Enrolled in pre-med courses at the last minute local community college and had no gaining... Military garb he usually wore to class a casual investigation on him and gave him a clean chit of. Abandoned music, he was shocked to learn that all these years later Swango was formally on... Following complaints, OSU performed a casual investigation on him and gave him a clean chit to., the middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango college for the following fall outside activities clinical experience and. In chemistry and biology 275 images with introduction and reflections from Paul McCartney '' ''. Was found in her body at the time of her death explicable reason enlisted in the United States September... Professional courtesies that allowed Swango to fellow students Blind Eye: the Terrifying Story of a Doctor Who Away. A sample of the Beatles first transatlantic trip Aug 1985, this picture articles! Practitioners could tell something was wrong with Swango 's medical career telephoned Jordan Cohen, the middle of... Florence near Florence, Colorado reviewed in the Marines left him with a double major in chemistry biology... The fascination of an acutely observed and troubling novel ], Swango had fled the.. Sentenced him to three consecutive life terms, which left no identifiable trace in the glee club failure perform! Being caught working on a scrapbook of disasters on work time found in her body at the last.... But they could have, Cashman told Stewart, he found temporary medical work sentenced john virgil swango years! Adx Florence near Florence, Colorado the memorial using the Edit button below something!