The unlicensed Coronado dentist accused of advertising for patients in San Diego then carting them to Tijuana for dental implants, lost his motion to have most of the charges against him dropped. Robert Mansueto will stand trial in September on all 20 counts against him.
Team 10 exposed Mansueto's practices in 2016, after witnessing patients meeting him at his Coronado home. The patients would get in Mansueto's car and he drove them to a Tijuana dental clinic where teeth were pulled and screws were placed in their jaws to hold implants.
ORIGINAL STORY: http://www.10news.com/news/team-10-reveals-dangerous-dental-deal
Investigators with the California Board of Dentistry investigated Mansueto, whose license to practice dentistry in the state was revoked more than a decade ago. The San Diego County District Attorney filed charges against Mansueto in connection with dental work he performed on four patients.
Donna Cooper was one of those patients: http://www.10news.com/news/team-10/team-10-escondido-woman-pays-6500-for-dental-implants-now-needs-to-have-them-pulled-out
In February, a superior court judge ruled there was enough evidence against Mansueto to bind him over to trial, but his attorneys claimed California should not have jurisdiction over Mansueto's activities in Mexico. David Wilson and Gretchen Von Helms argued Mansueto has the proper credentials to practice dentistry in Mexico, but the judge was not moved.
Deputy San Diego District Attorney Gina Darvas argued it was a "continuing crime" that began when Mansueto recruited patients in San Diego, examined some of them at his Coronado home, then drove them to Tijuana for procedures.
Judge Laura Halgren agreed with the prosecution, denying Mansueto's motion, and sending the case to trial.
If convicted, Mansueto could face 13 years in prison.
