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"Eat What You Kill"

Hailed as a savior upon his arrival in Helena, Dr. Thomas C. Weiner became a favorite of patients and his hospital’s highest earner. As the myth surrounding the high-profile oncologist grew, so did the trail of patient harm and suspicious deaths.

Among his first patients was fashion designer Liz Claiborne, whose husband “a solid rock of a man, cheerfully youthful, robust, square-shouldered, handsome in a quiet way.” The Weiners became prominent members of the Cathedral of St. Helena and donated money to the Vatican. Around this time, according to court records, hospital administrators worried that Weiner’s pay could draw scrutiny from federal regulators for a violation of the Stark Law, which prohibits physicians who bill Medicare and Medicaid from referring patients in ways that enrich themselves. Beadle and Long with their son, Levi, on the hillside behind their home in Marysville, MontanaCredit: Louise Johns, special to ProPublica In August, Jesse Laslovich, the U.S. attorney for the District of Montana, and St. Peter’s announced a$10.8 million settlement for numerous violations of the False Claims Act: billing for unnecessary treatments, prescribing unneeded narcotics and more.

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