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John and Joyce Sheridan
May 13, 2024
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In 2014, a prominent couple from New Jersey was found brutally killed inside their home. They each suffered multiple stab
Anthony Pignataro, born in Buffalo, New York grew up to attend college at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania with hopes of becoming a doctor, just like his father. After several rejections into medical school, Anthony attended med school at the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Anthony met 21-year old Deborah Rago while in school and the couple married in 1985. Anthony and Deborah went on to have 2 children together, a boy and a girl.
Anthony began working at a local New York hospital as a surgeon. But Anthony’s coworkers weren’t impressed with the young doctor. Many thought he didn’t seem to know much about medicine at all. After a few short years, Anthony left the hospital to start his very own plastic surgery practice in the Buffalo suburb of West Seneca.
By the late 1990’s, Anthony Pignataro invented the Snap-On toupee for men suffering from hair loss. The Snap-On toupee involves surgically implanting titanium sockets into the skull, and securing gold snaps into the sockets. Once the hair piece of sewn together, it is attached to the gold snaps.
Between his plastic surgery practice and the Snap-On toupee business, Anthony and his family were doing very well for themselves.
In 1997, 26-year old, mother and wife, Sarah Smith, went to Dr. Pignataro’s practice for a breast augmentation procedure. During the simple procedure, compilations occur. Without the proper medical equipment, Sarah Smith passes away from the surgery.
Shortly after Sarah Smith’s death, police discover that Dr. Anthony Pignataro isn’t even licensed to practice plastic surgery. They also found out that the doctor didn’t staff registered nurses or anesthesiologists at his practice.
Dr. Pignataro was arrested and charged with manslaughter for Sarah Smith’s death. He pled guilty to criminal negligent homicide and was sentenced to pay a $5,000 fine, service 6 months in jail and ordered to compete 250 hours of community service.
Once released from jail, the doctor is caught cheating on his wife, Deborah. The couple separate for a brief period, but reconcile a few months later. In May 1999, Deborah becomes ill with severe flu-like symptoms. When Deborah is admitted to the doctor, her husband suggests to doctor that her gallbladder be removed.
A test on Deborah’s red blood cells showed signs of poisoning. Further tests revealed that Deborah had been ingesting nearly lethal amounts of arsenic. Scientists tested Deborah’s hair follicles to determine how long she had been ingesting the poison.
But, who would want to poison Deborah Pignataro?
The first theory suggested that Sarah Smith, Dr. Pignataro’s patient, family may have had something to do with Deborah’s poisoning. Maybe as revenge. But, the problem with that theory was that Sarah Smith’s family moved many states away from the Pignataro family.
Police started to ask Deborah what she ate before falling ill. The only thing Deborah remembers eating right before getting sick, was soup. Soup served by her loving husband, Dr. Anthony Pignataro.
A forensic test revealed Deborah had consumed over 29,000 milligrams of arsenic.
The police suspected that Deborah’s husband, former Dr. Anthony Pignataro, was intentionally poisoning his wife with arsenic. And they believe he was using soup, the only food that sounded good while feeling sick, to do it.
Anthony was once again arrested and charged with intentionally poisoning his wife, Deborah. Prosecutors in the case found evidence that suggested that the reason why Anthony asked the hospital doctors to perform surgery to remove Deborah’s gallbladder was because the arsenic would have killed her during surgery, and in Anthony’s eye… the medical community would SEE that it was normal for operations to kill people sometimes…. Just like what happened with his patient, Sarah Smith.
Anthony pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Since being released from prison, Anthony moved to South Florida and changed his name to Tony Haute. Currently, he has a profile on ElderCare.com where he advertising his services as “a trustworthy senior caregiver in South Florida”
Authorities in Florida are aware of the former doctor and are monitoring for potential future criminal conduct.
Episode Sources
Forensic Files Season 9, Episode 8
Forensic Files Now website
WSVN News Articles
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