Nose Doc could face a mental evaluation

HAMMOND | Because of former fugitive Mark Weinberger's purported suicide attempt and unwillingness to answer a judge's questions about his mental competence, federal prosecutors want a judge to hold a hearing to determine whether the former sinus surgeon should undergo a mental evaluation.

Assistant U.S Attorney Diane L. Berkowitz filed a motion Monday asking a judge to order a hearing to determine whether Weinberger, 46, should face a competency evaluation by a doctor before further hearings are held in his federal criminal case. Weinberger, formerly known as "The Nose Doctor," has pleaded not guilty to charges he billed patients at his former Merrillville clinic for procedures he didn't perform.

In both of his brief procedural hearings in Hammond federal court, Weinberger has not directly answered Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry's questions about whether he is capable of understanding court proceedings. Berkowitz cited that reticence and Weinberger's apparent post-arrest suicide attempt in asking for the hearing. Berkowitz wrote that Weinberger's lawyer, Adam Tavitas, has said "no communication problem exists" between the men, but she is seeking the hearing out of an "abundance of caution."

Tavitas could not be reached for comment Monday.

A pretrial competency evaluation is meant to decide whether a defendant is mentally capable of helping with his or her own defense. An insanity defense at trial relies on other factors and focuses on a defendant's mental capabilities at the time of the alleged crime.

Weinberger was captured on an Italian mountainside Dec. 15, 5 1/2 years after he disappeared on a family trip to Greece. A guide on the mountain tipped off authorities the former doctor was living in a tent with high-tech survival gear. Weinberger was taken to a hospital after he stabbed himself in the neck with a knife he had hidden while he was being arrested.

When Weinberger vanished in 2004, he left his Merrillville sinus clinic buried beneath some $7 million in outstanding debts. Weinberger still faces 357 civil malpractice claims, according to the Indiana Patients' Compensation Fund's Web site.

Weinberger faces severe potential civil damages, but it was the 22-count criminal indictment issued in Hammond federal court that led to his arrest. Federal grand jurors indicted Weinberger in December 2006 on charges he billed insurance companies for procedures he didn't perform.