Welcome to You Should Be Sorry, a podcast dedicated to sharing real life scary stories of the unethical, the immoral, and the criminal. Podcast information and sources are listed in the episode notes. Follow the show on Instagram at You Should Be Sorry Pod and subscribe to the pod's Patreon, where members get access to exclusive content and perks. You won't be sorry. On May 23rd, 1992, Barbra Lynn Reifel walked down the aisle of a gorgeous Catholic church in Brooklyn, New York. Her father by her side, Barbra beamed as she looked around the room at all of the smiling, proud faces of family and friends. She described this day as the most beautiful, happiest day of her life. She was eager to begin her new life with the man that she loved. As they approached the altar, Barbra's father lifted the veil off of her face and kissed her on the cheek. As he gave his daughter away, he shook hands with her betrothed, took a seat, and held back tears while smiling at the two of them. Barbra, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity, her soon-to-be husband spoke. Barbra said that when he slid the ring on her finger, it was like the heavens opened up and she heard angels sing. The officiant said his last line, Michael, you may now kiss the bride. And the crowd went wild. Barbra was officially married to the love of her life, an esteemed oral surgeon, Michael Mastromarino. The couple had been together for three years before tying the knot, citing Michael wanting to wait to finish his doctorate degree before planning a whole big wedding. When the two met, Barbra was initially attracted to Michael's confidence. He told her he was going to be on top of the world. And she believed him. He promised her everything that she could want: a big house, babies, and status. Mario Gallucci, a cousin and close friend of Michael's, commented on the couple's chemistry, saying that Michael was smitten with Barbra and that it seemed as though that Michael had finally met his match. The two were the storybook picture of a perfect, beautiful, happy as-can-be couple. People would even refer to them as Ken and Barbie because of how perfect they looked together. As the newly wedded couple walked hand in hand out of the church, it was clear to everyone present that they had just witnessed something so rare. A joining of two souls that were madly in love and truly seemed to be what some would call meant to be. If anyone's marriage was ever going to make it, it would be Barbra and Michael's. As a voice on the microphone announced the couple for the first time as Dr. and Mrs. Dr. Mastro marino, Barbra smiled and looked into her new husband's eyes, awestruck by how lucky she was in that moment. Unfortunately, this seemingly sweet and traditional announcement was a dark foreshadowing of Barbra's sole identity being completely stolen from her. Barbara Rifle had ceased to exist, and Mrs. Dr. Mastromarino had taken her place. This may have been the happiest day of her life, but it wouldn't be long before Barbra would look back on her picture-perfect wedding day as one of the last truly joyful memories that she had with her husband. About a year after getting married, Barbra gave birth to her and Michael's first son, a boy named Michael after his father, or Mike for short. Three years later, Barbra gave birth to their second son, Jerry. The family of four was feeling a bit cramped in the city and decided to move to the suburbs. They purchased a multi-million dollar home in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on the ever-cheeky named street, Buckingham Road. The mansion even featured a heated driveway that could melt the snow. Because, duh, what kind of millionaire doctor would shovel his own snow? At this time, Michael had opened up his own practice in Manhattan with two other doctors, specializing in cranial and facial surgery. The business was a success, establishing Michael as a well-respected surgeon in the city. His dreams of reaching the top of the world were really coming true. He had the successful business, he had the money, the beautiful wife and kids, the house in the suburbs, complete with the white picket fence and two gaudy lion statues on each side of the gate. He was making an insane amount of money. And while this helped bankroll his bougie lifestyle, it also required him to work a lot of long hours. Barbra didn't seem to mind Michael's crazy work schedule at first. After all, the work that Michael was doing in the city was important noble work. And it definitely didn't hurt that the family were able to go on a vacation wherever and whenever they wanted to. She also noted that even though Michael wasn't home often, he was still a very loving and present husband and father whenever he was around. It wasn't until years later, in February of 2000, that Barbra was going to see Michael's true demons start to surface. One day, Michael had a business meeting back in the city. Michael's parents were staying with him and Barbra at the time, as they had come to visit their grandchildren. It was getting late and Michael had not returned home from his meeting yet. Barbra wasn't that worried though. She went to sleep, assured that when she woke up in the morning, that Michael would be in that bed next to her, and everything would just continue in its beautiful bliss. But around 4 a.m., Barbra is awoken by a knock on her bedroom door. It's Michael's mother, so her mother-in-law, frantically telling Barbra that she really needed her help and that there was something wrong with Michael. Barbra jumped out of the bed and found Michael stumbling out of the bathroom. He was slurring as he spoke and was unable to walk himself down the hall without crashing into the walls. Knocking picture frames down, falling onto the floor, blood pouring off his shirt. Barbra and her mother-in-law got Michael into bed, after which Barbra explained to her that Michael does take pain medication for a back injury that he had sustained years prior. She was assured there was nothing to be worried about. She calmed her mother-in-law down, told her to go back to sleep, and that everything was fine. But after everyone was all tucked in, Barbra decided to go on a hunt. She knew that something wasn't right. She had never seen Michael like this before and called it completely out of character for him. She tore apart that bathroom and discovered Michael's secret stash of fentanyl, demerol, needles, and bloody tissues hidden in a small bag behind the toilet. Fentanyl is a very powerful opioid, typically used for severe pain relief and anesthesia. It's nearly 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. It's incredibly easy to overdose on, even a couple milligrams can be lethal. Demerol is another strong opioid used for severe pain relief, but it's rarely even used in modern medicine anymore, as doctors have noted that all of the risky side effects outweigh the benefits. When Barbra confronted Michael the next morning, he insisted that the bag of drugs and needles that she found were for his back pain and that he had simply taken too much, and there was nothing to worry about. He was so nonchalant about the occurrence with Barbra that, although perplexed, she felt that she needed to give her husband the benefit of the doubt. I mean, he'd never done something like this before, and she had no reason not to trust him. It must have just been an accident. Plus, he seemed totally fine now. But just a few weeks later, Barbra received a phone call from one of Michael's associates. A fellow doctor at the practice was preparing to perform a surgery with Michael when he realized that Michael was nowhere to be found. He discovered the patient fully prepped and asleep on the operating table all alone. He later found Michael passed out on the bathroom floor, bleeding with a needle sticking out of his arm. Barbra was shook. She asked if the patient was alright, to which the doctor replied that they were fine, but that if Michael did not seek treatment for his drug use, that he would not be allowed to continue working at the practice. Understandably upset and scared, Barbra told Michael that enough was enough. He needed to go to rehab, not only for the sake of his business, but for her and their two small children. He agreed to seek help and checked into a rehab center in West Palm Beach, known for their high-profile patients, many of which were also doctors. The rehab center was also one of the most expensive centers in the country. Michael's cousin, Mario, described the center as the Ritz Carlton of rehabs. Michael was supposed to stay there for at least three weeks. He stayed for three days. When he returned home, he claimed he didn't have a drug problem like all those sad people in rehab, and that he was smarter than the doctors there trying to help him. He said that three days was enough and that he would be fine. Once again, lying to everyone that cared about him to save face. Barbra, desperate to save her marriage, put faith in her husband and agreed to let him handle his recovery on his own terms. This was a decision she would come to regret. Not long after his return home from rehab, Michael yet again found another way to test his wife's patience and trust. And this time, he wouldn't just be causing trouble in his marriage. He would be facing trouble with the law. So, one night in July of the same year, Barbra was at home when she felt a pit in her stomach. It was nearly midnight, and Michael had not come home from his meeting yet. Barbra was growing restless, waiting up for him, and she decided to take matters into her own hands. She packed up her sleeping sons, got in the car, and just started heading down the highway. She was determined to find Michael. She didn't know where to start, but she knew that she had to get to the bottom of this once and for all. While searching, Barbra came across what looked like a car accident. Several police cars with their lights on, blocking the road, yellow tape everywhere. Her first thought was that Michael had been in a car accident. Her second thought was, Am I going to find Michael dead? She got out of her car and approached the scene where she found Michael alive and well and standing in handcuffs. An officer told her that her husband was being arrested for possession and distribution of a controlled substance. And the real knife in the back? Michael wasn't alone. He was with another woman. In fact, she was the one driving Michael's car. Michael tested positive for copious amounts of drugs, including cocaine and demerol, thus proving that he had been practicing medicine while under the influence and was likely stealing medication and supplies that were meant for patients. He had been performing surgeries on unwitting patients, while high on a dangerous cocktail of stimulants and opioids. The previous month, Michael had actually damaged a patient's seventh cranial nerve during surgery, leaving her with a permanent facial droop. So between the drugs, the thievery, and the imminent danger he posed to both his patients and his colleagues, Michael was let go from his practice. All of this also resulted in Michael losing his medical license. After this latest incident, Michael begged a heartbroken Barbra to give him one more chance. He swore to her that he would change. He would go back to rehab, he would get clean, and he would win her trust back if it was the last thing he did. Barbra hesitated, but would later come to forgive Michael for all of his transgressions, claiming it was very important to her to uphold her wedding vows. She was also quoted saying, Love messes a girl up. His love messed me up. Now, we're going to jump ahead to 2004. A few years has passed since Michael hit the lowest point of his life, losing his medical license, being charged with a drug offense, and nearly losing his wife and children. But by all accounts, things had actually gotten better. Although unable to practice medicine anymore, Michael founded his own company, which was doing very well. Him and Barbara had been working on their marriage and were in a pretty good place. The kids were happy and doing well in school. Friends and family also claimed that everything appeared to be going great again for the Mastromarinos. But we obviously wouldn't be here if that was the end of the story. So one morning, after dropping her sons off at school, Barbra is driving home and turns the radio on, only to be startled by a news report interrupting the music. A loud voice echoed throughout the car. Breaking news! Dr. Michael Mastromarino, the ghoulish mastermind behind the body snatching ring in New York, has been charged with multiple counts of body stealing. Newspapers and tablets with pictures of Michael on the front page littered the streets with cut lines such as body snatchers, body parts recall, ghoul's gold, 1000 bodies in ghoul probe, and ghouls cut up my dad. The fairy tale Ken and Barbie dream house in suburbia life that Barbra had been living was about to be completely shattered, and the time of death on her marriage was imminent. You should really be sorry, Michael.