Michael Swango graduated from the Southern Illinois University Medical School in 1983 and

began the internship program at Ohio State University Hospital upon his graduation. As spelled

out in the indictment, while working as an intern at Ohio State University Hospital in January

1984, Dr. Swango murdered Cynthia McGee by injecting her with a lethal dose of potassium. In

February 1984, he assaulted his patient, Rena Cooper, by injecting her with a poisonous substance.

She survived the attack. After that assault, Ohio State University Hospital removed Dr.

Swango from the residency program, and in 1985 Ohio

authorities commenced a murder investigation into his

activities. Although that investigation did not result in

the filing of charges against Swango, he did learn of the

investigation and concealed the fact that he was investigated

for murdering patients from the other hospitals

that subsequently hired him.

In 1985, Swango began employment at the Adams

County, Illinois, Ambulance Service as an emergency

medical technician. According to the indictment, he

poisoned several of his co-workers there with arsenic.

They later recovered and he was tried and convicted of

aggravated battery. He was sentenced to a 5-year term

of imprisonment.

Several years after his release from an Illinois prison,

Swango sought admission to several medical residency

programs. In 1992, he was hired by the University of

South Dakota and assigned to work as a resident at the

VAMC Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after he falsified

facts about his prior criminal conviction. Swango was

discharged from the program after hospital administrators

became aware of the facts surrounding his conviction

and his activities at Ohio State University Hospital.

In 1993, Swango applied for and obtained a position

as a medical resident at the State University of Stony

Brook Medical School, which ran a residency program

at VAMC Northport. During the application process,

he misrepresented that his criminal conviction in Illinois

stemmed from a barroom brawl; a false statement

that ultimately led to his conviction and incarceration

on Federal charges.

Thereafter, Swango murdered George Siano, Aldo

Serini and Thomas Sammarco, while all three were

patients at VAMC Northport. Swango killed all three

patients by administering injections of toxic substances.

In addition, Swango also injected a poison into another

patient at the hospital, Barron Harris. Mr. Harris survived

the incident.

In October 1993 Swango was discharged from his residency

at VAMC Northport, and was later charged with

making a false statement to Federal officials and improper

use of controlled substances in connection with

his employment there. Before those charges were filed

discharged from the program after hospital administrators

became aware of the facts surrounding his conviction

and his activities at Ohio State University Hospital.

In 1993, Swango applied for and obtained a position

as a medical resident at the State University of Stony

Brook Medical School, which ran a residency program

at VAMC Northport. During the application process,

he misrepresented that his criminal conviction in Illinois

stemmed from a barroom brawl; a false statement

that ultimately led to his conviction and incarceration

on Federal charges.

Thereafter, Swango murdered George Siano, Aldo

Serini and Thomas Sammarco, while all three were

patients at VAMC Northport. Swango killed all three

patients by administering injections of toxic substances.

In addition, Swango also injected a poison into another

patient at the hospital, Barron Harris. Mr. Harris survived

the incident.

In October 1993 Swango was discharged from his residency

at VAMC Northport, and was later charged with

making a false statement to Federal officials and improper

use of controlled substances in connection with

his employment there. Before those charges were filed

however, he fled the United States and was hired as a

physician at the Zimbabwe Association of Church

Hospitals.

On May 14, 1995 and July 7, 1995, respectively,

Swango administered injections of toxic substances

into his patients Kenias Mueaza and Virginia Sibanda,

both of whom were under his care at Mnene Hospital

in Zimbabwe, Africa. Both survived Swango’s attacks.

Swango was suspended from practice at Mnene

Hospital in July 1995.

In 1997, as a result of false statements, Swango obtained

employment as a physician through KAMA

Enterprises, Inc., an employment agency in Portland,

Oregon, and was assigned to work as a physician at

the Royal Hospital in Dharan, Saudi Arabia. In June

1997, Swango was arrested in a Chicago airport on

his way from Africa to Saudi Arabia, to begin his

employment there. He was arrested for the false statement

and controlled substance charges that had been

filed in the Eastern Judicial District of New York.

While Swango was imprisoned on this charge, VA OIG

investigators and healthcare inspectors, FBI agents,

and U.S. Attorneys had limited time to find the evidence

to make the case for the three deaths which happened

in a federal facility. Extensive review of records,

laboratory studies, and interviewing witnesses in the

United States and Africa took thousands of hours. In

that effort, the team received the full cooperation and

support from the management and staff at VA Medical

Center Northport, NY.

Faced with the possibility of a death sentence, Swango

pleaded guilty to the murder of the three veterans in

New York and was sentenced to three consecutive life

terms without parole.

VA IG Richard Griffin and U.S.

Attorney Loretta Lynch

“Through a web of lies and deception, Michael

Swango inveigled his way into the confidence of hospital

administrators across the country and the world.

Once in their trust and employ, he utilized his skills

to search for victims and take their lives. This case

is the result of the hard work and diligent efforts of

not just this office but of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

and the Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of Inspector General, who were determined

that Swango be held accountable for his actions and

not be allowed to victimize others. I thank both of

those agencies for their dedication and determination

in investigating this matter, across the years and

the globe. We extend our deepest sympathies to the

victims and their families.”

Loretta E. Lynch

United States Attorney

Becomes EMS technician in Illinois, 7/84

charged with battery for poisoning co-workers

with doughnuts laced with arsenic

felony - for poisoning co-workers at the Adams

County Ambulance Service

news program "20/20"

Northport VA Hires Physician Who Was Convicted of Poisoning Coworkers

William T. Merriman, Deputy Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), announced today that in U. S. District Court, Uniondale, NY, Michael J. Swango, also known as Jackson Michael Kirk, appeared before Judge Jacob Mishler, as a result of a superseding indictment filed yesterday charging Swango with one count of making false statements and five counts of possession of controlled substances by misrepresentation, deception and subterfuge. Swango was indicted previously in July 1997, for the false statement charge.

Merriman advised that a Federal grand jury charged that Swango, in connection with his application to enter a residency program at the State University at Stonybrook, Long Island, stated to officials that he had been convicted and incarcerated in Illinois for assault arising from a fist fight in a bar, when in fact he had been convicted for assault arising from the non-lethal poisoning of his co-workers while employed as a paramedic. Stonybrook assigned Swango as a resident to the VA Medical Center, Northport, NY. As a result of Swango’s misrepresentation and subsequent employment status, he was able to dispense controlled substances, including Demerol and Morphine. In 1993, an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation resulted in an arrest warrant being issued based on this false statement charge. Swango then left the United States and accepted an appointment as a resident at a hospital in Zimbabwe. An arrest warrant was issued on Swango in Zimbabwe charging him with five counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder of patients at that hospital. Swango was arrested upon his return to the United States in July 1997.

Swango is being held in Federal custody pending trial scheduled for November 3, 1997, on these charges. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment and $150,000 in fines.