Framingham (Massachusetts): Fabiola DePaula's quest for beauty took her to a condominium basement, where, authorities say, she paid an unlicensed doctor $3,300 for a nose job and liposuction performed on a massage table.
But something went terribly wrong and the 24-year-old nanny died, exposing what investigators say was an underground cosmetic-surgery network used by immigrants from Brazil - a country whose women are world-famous for their beauty and their willingness to go under the knife to achieve it.
"Somebody has to speak out. Go to the Brazilians, open their minds and let them know it's dangerous," said a friend of Fabiola, Jacque Foster.
Authorities believe a Brazilian doctor, Luiz Carlos Ribeiro, performed liposuction, nose jobs and Botox injections for three years in the Framingham area, mostly for the town's large Brazilian immigrant population and mostly for cash.
Police say Fabiola, a native of Brazil, went to Ribeiro for a nose job on July 27, then died three days later after the liposuction.
According to the autopsy report, Fabiola died of complications from the liposuction, including pulmonary fat emboli or fat particles in the lungs.
District Attorney Martha Coakley said doctors in a hospital could have dealt with the complication, which she called a rare but known risk.
Ribeiro and his wife, Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro, both aged 49, were arrested July 31 and charged with manslaughter, unauthorized practice of medicine and drug counts.
The couple pleaded not guilty and remain in jail. Their attorneys declined to comment. The owner of the condo was also arrested.
The district attorney said Ribeiro was licensed to practice medicine in Brazil but his specialty was not cosmetic surgery. Officials have not identified his specialty.
Eliana Miranda, a Brazilian immigrant who owns a clothing store in Framingham, about 20 miles west of Boston, said she doubts Ribeiro had trouble finding customers.
Cosmetic surgery is "big here too, but in Brazil, it's much bigger," she said.
"We suffer all day in high heels, just to look good. Americans think about what is comfortable. Even the underwear is more underwear," she added.
Youth and beauty are positively worshiped in Brazilian culture, exemplified by the scantily clad women celebrating Carnival or sunbathing on the beach.
The best-known plastic surgeons in the country are celebrities.
Other states with large immigrant populations have also seen cases in which people fell victim to others practicing medicine or dentistry illegally.
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