Press

Of course they did. I saw these men at their most vulnerable. I saw them weep in pain and fear, I listened to them voice regrets, bicker with their wives, and dote on their children. Few outsiders came to know them as well as I did, in all their human frailty. While their moral code was very different from mine, they had one. Family, in both senses of the word, was paramount.

Reliving the divorce and custody battle with my ex-husband, and the custody trial with the father of my youngest daughter, the agony of seeing my lover convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms and ten years in prison – these experiences were difficult to write about because the pain they caused came back almost undiminished.

One advantage was that I got to eat for free in all the restaurants on Federal Hill, the Italian neighborhood of Providence where Raymond Patriarca had his storefront business, that ironically supplied cigarette vending machines to establishments all over New England.

I could also have a bodyguard whenever I wanted one.

My street was the first to be plowed after a snow storm. I can only assume it was so that I could get to the hospital fast if I were needed.

People knew that Raymond could afford the best, so they thought: “if he chose her to be his doctor, then I’m going to go to her too.”

One disadvantage was that being Raymond’s doctor made it very hard to get a date!

Another disadvantage was having my professional judgement called into question by police, prosecutors, the Providence Journal newspaper and the FBI.

My status as Raymond’s doctor was used to impugn my fitness as a mother during the Family Court trial when the father of my youngest daughter sued me for palimony, common law divorce and custody on the grounds that I was an unfit mother.

When I was attacked in a cemetery by a naked man wearing only a ski mask and sneakers, the Providence Journal published a story about it, noting I was Raymond’s doctor and printing my home address.

Retired RI State Police Captain Brian Andrews answered this question.  He said that the correct term was “Baby Shacks” and that it described Louis’ appearance when he was young and the success he had “shacking up” with the ladies. A policeman later made a typographical error on an arrest booking form and entered the alias “Baby Shanks” for “Baby Shacks.” However, most articles in the press still refer to Louis as “Baby Shanks.”