A fake skin doctor who let a woman die on his operating table and stashed her body under his garage has revealed he was drunk and high at the time.
In a new interview with ABC 20/20 that will air on Friday, Dean Faiello finally apologized for killing 35-year-old investment banker Maria Cruz in April 2003.
He said when he realized she was dead he put her body in a suitcase and drove her to his home in New Jersey - where he buried her under his garage.
In clips seen by DailyMail.com, Faiello says: 'Deep down inside, I was afraid something was going to go wrong.'
Cruz was there to have a black mark removed from her tongue, a condition caused by antibiotics.
In a new interview with ABC 20/20 that will air on Friday, Dean Faiello reveals that he was high and drunk when he performed a procedure on 35-year-old investment banker Maria Cruz in April 2003
Maria Cruz, a devout Catholic and Filipino immigrant, was a graduate of Fordham University
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ShareFaiello attributes Cruz's death to an overdose of lidocaine which resulted in the Filipino native collapsing into convulsions.
He goes on to say that he had more than a dozen appointments with Cruz, who he describes as being 'quiet and shy,' at his clinic in his Manhattan clinic.
During the piece, Faiello says he lied to clients and never told them he was not a licensed MD, despite performing many procedures that required a license.
On his official website, Faiello stated that he that he had a Master of Science degree and that he was a Certified Professional Electrologist.
Speaking about the moment Cruz began to convulse, Faiello says: 'I used too many vials of lidocaine.' He also says: 'I know I was high and drunk during her final treatment.'
The fake doctor said: '[Maria] was completely limp at that point. I put my head on her chest, and I checked to see whether she was breathing and she had no vital signs.'
After he realized that Cruz had passed away, Faiello drove her corpse to his home in Newark, New Jersey, in a suitcase and buried her under a concrete slab in his garage.
He describes it in the interview saying: 'In the garage, there was a slab that had to be repaired. And the idea came to me to make Maria part of that slab. So, I just can't believe I did it, but that's what I did.'
Faiello added: 'I can't give you a logical explanation, because there is no explanation.'
He then got a 90-day travel visa allowing him to travel and stay in Costa Rica. Eventually, Faiello was arrested shortly after Cruz's body was found in February 2004.
During his time in Costa Rica, Faiello lived in a luxurious villa and spent his days by the pool while bragging about his medical career in New York City
In the 20/20 interview, Faiello details a bizarre attempt he made to remain in the Central American nation by getting adopted
In the 20/20 interview, Faiello details a bizarre attempt he made to remain in the Central American nation by getting adopted.
In 2005, Faiello pleaded guilty to first-degree assault against Cruz and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He ended up serving 17 years at Attica Correctional Facility and was paroled earlier in 2022.
While in prison, Faiello got sober and spent time writing and reading. He previously told the New York Times that prison guards prevented him from receiving his HIV medication.
He says in the interview: 'Not a day passes that I do not think of Maria or think of her family and why I acted like such a coward. I hope that I'm no longer the person who took such a risk with Maria's life.'
Cruz was a native of the Philippines and moved to the United States to attend college. She had an MBA from Fordham University and was a devout Catholic. At the time of her death, Cruz worked for Barclays Bank.
The fake doc continued: 'I get inspiration from Maria. She was forgiving and supportive. And I like to think that she's helped me to transform and atone for what I did, for what I did to her family, and helping me to become a better person, one day at a time.'
aiello was first revealed to be a fraud in a report from the New York Post titled 'He'll Make Your Skin Crawl.' In October 2002, he was charged with three counts of practicing without a license
Among the services that Faiello provided was blood vessel removal, electrolysis, laser hair removal, laser skin treatment, tattoo removal and facials
In a statement to ABC, Cruz's family said: 'We have wanted to know what really happened on that fateful day for such a long time. This has shed light. I ended up crying so hard while reading this. The pain doesn't really go away.'
Prior to Cruz's death, Faiello's Skin Ovations had been in business for seven years. Before that, he worked in construction. His premises moved from Park Avenue, the Upper East Side and Grammercy Park.
Among the services that Faiello provided was blood vessel removal, electrolysis, laser hair removal, laser skin treatment, tattoo removal and facials.
It was revealed in a 2005 New York Times feature that Faiello was voted as 'most likely to succeed' by his high school classmates at Madison High School in Madison, New Jersey.
The Times report went on to say that during his time in Costa Rica, he lived in a luxurious villa and spent his days by the pool while bragging about his medical career in New York City.
Three years earlier, Faiello was first revealed to be a fraud in a report from the New York Post titled 'He'll Make Your Skin Crawl.' In October 2002, he was charged with three counts of practicing without a license.
While out on bail, Faiello brought his practice underground and began operating from an apartment on West 16th Street. For his original crime, he was facing six months in prison.
Crime reporter Pat Lalama told ABC: 'He played the part, he looked the part, he acted the part.'
The two-hour special also includes interviews with investigative journalists Jeane MacIntosh and Barbara Nevins Taylor, whose undercover investigations first exposed that Faiello was practicing medicine without a license; his former romantic partner Greg Bach, who gave authorities a critical tip; investigator Brian Ford, who played a key role in cracking the case; other former friends and colleagues of Faiello, who shed light on his drug use and state-of-mind; and friends of victim Maria Cruz.
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