Henderson pediatrician testifies in his fraud trial

Henderson pediatrician Ralph Conti testified in his own defense Tuesday in the third week of his federal trial on charges of defrauding chronically ill patients through an experimental stem cell implant procedure.

Guided by questions from his defense attorney, Conti, 51, spent more than five hours on the witness stand describing his professional reputation, interest in stem cells and how he met his co-defendant, Alfred Sapse, the 86-year-old medical researcher who developed the implant procedure.

But late in the afternoon, the well-known physician, who has been practicing medicine here since 1990, ran into tough questioning on cross-examination from a federal prosecutor.

When pressed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Crane Pomerantz, Conti admitted that he didn't verify the medical credentials of the European-educated Sapse, who is not a licensed physician in the United States.

Conti acknowledged that he didn't consult stem cell researchers, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials or any physicians, including his medical partners, about the viability of the novel procedure before he performed it on 30 patients Sapse sent him in 2006.

"It was one of those procedures where you're making it up as you go along," Conti said. "I thought this was a procedure that had potential to help people."

Pressed further by Pomerantz, Conti admitted he didn't test the placental tissue used in the experimental procedure to see whether it actually contained stem cells. And he admitted he didn't test the procedure on any animals before performing it on human patients.

"Sometimes, you have to take a shot in the dark and think outside the box," Conti said.

Earlier, under questioning from Oakland, Calif., defense lawyer Dennis Roberts, the Henderson pediatrician insisted, "I have never, ever stopped believing in the procedure."

Conti and Sapse, who also may testify in his own defense, are facing conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud charges in the courtroom of Senior U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson.

Conti brought with him to the witness stand eight pages of notes, primarily the questions his lawyer was to ask him with the answers. Dawson instructed him not to use the notes.

He told Pomerantz on cross-examination that he had the notes drawn up so he could "tell his story."

The criminal case became public in July 2010 after federal authorities arrested Sapse and accused him of duping patients into undergoing the stem cell procedure.

Conti was charged months later.

In an opening statement in the trial, Pomerantz likened Sapse, who claimed to have a medical degree from Romania, to a carnival barker attracting victims to the scheme.

Sapse paid Conti $60,000 in 2006 to perform the procedure on 30 patients with serious illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, knowing the procedure wouldn't work, Pomerantz argued.

The procedure involved surgically implanting placental tissue in the abdomens of the patients, generally after normal clinic hours, Pomerantz said.

He said Sapse received about $1 million from patients and investors and gambled away a large share of the money at local casinos.

Defense lawyers argued that Sapse and Conti believed they were trying to help desperate patients and weren't looking to defraud them.

When questioned by his lawyer Tuesday, Conti told the jury that he thought Sapse was a "famous guy who had a great idea" and had no reason to question his medical credentials.

He said Sapse showed him a photo of Sapse taken in Europe years earlier in the presence of renowned scientists Linus Pauling and Jonas Salk.

At first, Conti said, he considered Sapse a mentor and later an employer as he performed the stem cell implants for Sapse.

Conti testified that he made sure all of the patients undergoing the procedure knew it was experimental and signed consent forms.

Eventually, however, he stopped doing the surgery under pressure from the Food and Drug Administration.

Conti said Sapse, who was handling all of the medical records, misled him into thinking he had filed the necessary paperwork with the FDA to win the agency's approval.

After prosecutors rested their case on Friday, Conti's attorneys began parading a string of character witnesses before the jury, including a prosecutor and television anchorwoman, who had high praise for his reputation as a physician.

Tempers flared between prosecutors and the lawyers outside the presence of the jury, as prosecutors accused the defense of failing to give them notice of some of the witnesses.

Cross-examination of Conti continues today.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.