By Milton Allimadi
[Black Star News Exclusive]
The Meridian Township Police in Okemos, MI, recommended that prosecutors charge Dr. Paul Gregory St. Claire formerly of the University of Michigan Health Sparrow with “domestic assault” following its investigation of a “poisoning” criminal complaint filed against him last September by Cassandra Fameux, his Haitian immigrant wife, according to the police report obtained by Black Star News.
Caption: Dr. Paul Gregory St. Claire. Photo: Family photo.
Ms. Fameux, 44, told Officer Nathan Wicks of the Meridian Township Police when she filed the criminal complaint on Sept. 10, 2024 that her 72-year-old husband began illegally medicating her, first orally, in 2014.
She told police Dr. St. Claire started injecting her three years later at Sparrow Hospital, for several years, with unprescribed Invega Sustenna, an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The hospital is now part of University of Michigan Health Sparrow.
Ms. Fameux told police she never had the disease and that her husband’s motive was to coerce her into signing a separate maintenance judgment, which she did, on Feb. 20, 2018. The judgment transferred the bulk of marital assets including millions of dollars and the couple’s two homes to Dr. St. Claire in addition to custody of their three then minor children.
Ms. Fameux told police she was first falsely diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder by Dr. Dominic Barberio, a psychiatrist and Dr. St. Claire’s colleague at Sparrow in order to pave the way for medication with the antipsychotic drugs.
Dr. St. Claire refused to be interviewed by police who investigated Ms. Fameux’s criminal complaint.
In a lawsuit against this reporter and Black Star News filed on July 23, 2024, after this publication first reported his wife’s allegations in 2023, Dr. St. Claire denied that he illegally injected Ms. Fameux or that he “colluded with other doctors from Sparrow Hospital to misdiagnose” his wife.
Lawyers for Black Star News have asked for the case, which is pending in the 30th Judicial District Circuit Court, in Lansing, M.I., to be dismissed.
In his court papers Dr. St. Claire claimed Black Star News published “false and defamatory statements” based on his wife’s allegations of “illegal drugging.”
Now Police have recommended that Dr. St. Claire be criminally charged based on Ms. Fameux’s Sept. 10, 2024 criminal complaint.
John Dewane, the Ingham County Prosecutor, in Lansing, M.I., didn’t respond to an e-mail message seeking comment about the status of the case.
Ingham County Prosecutor Andrew Dewane. Source: Prosecutor’s Office website.
“Cassandra advised that Dr. Barberio told Cassandra that she was not schizophrenic despite the diagnosis but he was doing this for billing purposes,” Officer Wicks wrote in his police report after Ms. Fameux filed the criminal complaint. “Cassandra played a recording for me where Dr. Barberio states she is not schizophrenic.”
Officer Wicks was referring to a secret recording Ms. Fameux made of a meeting with Dr. Barberio in his hospital office in September 2023.
Ms. Fameux was accompanied for the September 10, 2024 police interview by Linda Wenzel, a social worker whom she saw on a weekly basis, with Lansing-based Community Mental Health (CMH), a state agency, according to Officer Wicks’ notes.
“Linda stated that CMH psychiatrist, Dr. Rita Aouad, and an independent psychiatrist, Dr. Sharon Hobbs, both evaluated Cassandra recently and they confirmed that although Cassandra suffers from [redacted] she does not have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia,” Officer Wicks wrote. Dr. Aouad also testified in Dr. St. Claire’s and Ms. Fameux’s recently-concluded divorce proceedings in Ingham County, presided over by Judge Carole N. Koenig, that Ms. Famuex has PTSD as a result of an abusive marriage to Dr. St. Claire.
Dr. Aouad and Ms. Wenzel didn’t respond to an e-mail message from Black Star News seeking comment for this article.
“From 2017 to 2021, Cassandra was consistently injected with Invega at her home…” Officer Wicks’ police report states, referring to Ms. Fameux’s allegations.
“While under the influence of Invega,” he added, Dr. St. Claire “drafted documents for Cassandra to sign involving marital affairs and her children that he had Cassandra sign.”
Officer Wicks was referring to the judgment of separate maintenance, the document she told police she signed while under the influence of the medications.
Judge Koenig denied motions filed by Timothy P. Young, Ms. Fameux’s previous divorce attorney, and by Lisa Stern, the most recent attorney, to set-aside the judgment of separate maintenance.
Referring to the impact of the Invega Sustenna injections in his Oct. 22, 2024 motion to set-aside, Mr. Young wrote that the drugs “incapacitated” Ms. Fameux “to the extent she didn’t know the why or what was happening…” Mr. Young is with Grua, Freeman, Tupper & Young, Plc and Ms. Stern is with Hertz Schram.
Mr. Young did not respond to an e-mail message from Black Star News seeking comment. Ms. Stern declined to comment.
Judge Carol N. Koenig. Source: Ingham County Court website.
The separate maintenance agreement was drafted by Dr. St. Claire’s lawyer, Jessica Larson, with Lansing-based Mallory, Lanka, Scott & Selin, PLLC.
Ms. Fameux told police the side effects of the Invega Sustenna gave her a brain tumor, diabetes, a heart condition, and other ailments. “Cassandra advised that the continuous Invega injections is the reason the tumor and diabetes developed,” Officer Wicks wrote. “Cassandra had medical paperwork proving her claims.”
Ms. Fameux told Black Star News that while she was being injected with Invega Sustenna she’d make sure she was accompanied by a housekeeper while grocery shopping because sometimes she’d lose consciousness.
Ms. Fameux told police that she was injected with Invega Sustenna beginning in 2017 in Dr. Barberio’s office.
Dr. Dominic Barberio. Photo: U Michigan Health Sparrow website.
Dr. Barberio conceded that the Invega Sustenna came from samples at the hospital. He told police they were prescribed without making it clear whether he was referring to the entire period dating back to 2017 when the injections started.
Dr. Barberio did not respond to questions from Black Star News for this article, sent to him and his lawyer Kim J. Sveska via e-mail message.
Jon Foren, spokesperson for the University of Michigan Health Sparrow, in an e-mail message, said: “Since this is a pending legal matter, we cannot comment at this time.”
“Cassandra’s husband is Paul Gregory St. Claire and he is a doctor at Sparrow Hospital who is currently under investigation by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) for tampering with her medical records causing her to be misdiagnosed and subsequently given narcotics that were not appropriate for her leading to further medical issues,” Officer Wicks wrote.
When Wicks recorded Ms. Fameux’s statement, Dr. St. Claire was no longer employed by U Michigan Health Sparrow. He said he was forced to resign after Ms. Fameux told the hospital that he’d accessed her medical records without her permission, according to his court testimony before Judge Koenig in the couple’s divorce trial on Dec. 11, 2024.
Dr. St. Claire didn’t respond to questions from Black Star News for this story submitted via e-mail message to his lawyer, Ms. Larson, including a question about the police referral that he be charged.
Ms. Fameux told police it was her husband who administered the injections himself in Dr. Barberio’s office at the hospital, which is also what Dr. Barberio told police during this investigation that ended with the referral that Dr. St. Claire be charged.
Black Star News has obtained Ms. Fameux’s hospital records showing that the injections were administered by Dr. Barberio and his two medical assistants, when in fact they were by Dr. St. Claire and the nurses.
Ms. Fameux told Officer Wicks that the only time that Dr. Barberio himself ever injected her was when her husband was angry at her and phoned him to come to the marital home to inject her with Invega Sustenna as “punishment.” (Dr. Barberio and Dr. St. Claire denied any injection at home was to punish Ms. Fameux).
After she filed her complaint with Officer Wicks, Ms. Fameux’s case was assigned for investigation to Det. Ian Mandernack.
Black Star News obtained Det. Mandernack’s report after filing a FOIL request. Parts of the report are redacted.
Dr. St. Claire was contacted by phone by Det. Mandernack on March 10, 2025, according to his police report.
Dr. St. Claire “advised to me that LARA had already concluded their investigation of the incident, and cleared him of any wrongdoing or malpractice,” Det. Mandernack wrote, referring to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Dr. St. Claire also informed the detective that his lawyer would get back to him.
On March 10, 2025 LARA denied Det. Mandernack’s Feb. 25, 2025 FOIL request for the documents related to its investigation of Dr. St. Claire, according to his report. The detective reached out to Bryan Modelski, LARA Deputy Bureau Director about the denial. “I received no answer from Mr. Modelski, and left a voicemail detailing my questions about the denial,” he wrote in his report.
(Separately, on Oct. 4, 2024, LARA investigator Norman Naimy contacted this reporter by phone while investigating the allegations against Dr. St. Claire. After a conversation Mr. Naimy told this reporter his information confirmed his own investigation. He said he would send a subpoena for testimony from this reporter but no such subpoena was ever sent.)
LARA spokesperson Abby Rubley in response to questions submitted by Black Star News, said via e-mail message: “Detective Mandernack requested information through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that, per Michigan law, could not be released through that process. He was provided information on how to file an appeal, and no appeal was filed. Additionally, he was informed that the information he requested could be released upon LARA’s receipt of a subpoena for it. No response or subpoena was ever received. Regarding Detective Mandernack’s outreach to Mr. Modelski, despite being on an extended leave, Mr. Modelski ensured the voicemail was forwarded to staff the same day it was received to follow up with Detective Mandernack. Staff reached out via phone and email.”
Meridian Township Police Chief, Rick Grillo, didn’t respond to an e-mail message from Black Star News regarding the statement by the LARA spokesperson.
On March 10, 2025, a lawyer identified as Mallory Cunning contacted Det. Mandernack on behalf of Dr. St. Claire and informed him that they were both “very busy” with the divorce case, according to his report.
“She inquired about what would happen if Paul did not wish to speak with me regarding the allegations, and advised that she would speak with Paul further about whether he wished to provide a statement, and get back to me.”
Twenty-one days later on March 31, 2025 Ms. Larson, Dr. St. Claire’s attorney, contacted the detective and informed him her client declined to comment, according to his report.
Instead, Ms. Larson forwarded the detective an e-mail message from Dr. St. Claire that contained various allegations against Ms. Fameux to portray her as mentally unstable, including that: she had been hospitalized at least four times; that Dr. St. Claire had obtained two personal protection orders (PPOs) against her, including in 2017 when she “attacked Dr. St. Claire with a razor blade in front of their children”; that she had already gone through multiple lawyers in the divorce and had failed to have Judge Koenig removed from the case after she told the judge ‘fuck you’ during the trial; and that she was the one who asked him to administer the Invega Sustenna injections because ‘it hurts less when you do it.’”
Jessica Larson, Dr. St. Claire’s lawyer. Source: Mallory, Lanka, Scott & Selin, PLLC website.
During his 2003 divorce from his late second wife, Dr. Marcy Street, Dr. St. Claire also tried to get a PPO against her and also alleged she was mentally unstable, court documents show. Dr. St. Claire was denied the PPO because Dr. Street had already been granted one against him.
Dr. St. Claire’s allegation that Ms. Fameux said “fuck you” to Judge Koenig is inconsistent with the incident according to several people familiar with the matter, and documentation. Ms. Fameux did claim the judge was “racist” toward her. Ms. Fameux also filed a grievance complaint against Judge Koenig on March 3, 2025.
In the Oct. 22, 2024 motion to set-aside, Mr. Young, the lawyer, addressed the alleged razor blade incident. Referring to Ms. Fameux, he wrote that Dr. St. Claire “began medicating her on his own” at their home and that as the “abuse continued” Ms. Fameux “attempted to undermine the control” by Dr. St. Claire. She “began to act out and on one occasion” she “grabbed a razor and slashing (sic) the furniture.”
Dr. Marcy Street, Dr. St. Claire’s late second wife reportedly died of cancer on March 22, 2019.
Dr. Barberio was interviewed for the investigation by Det. Mandernack in the presence of his lawyer Mr. Sveska on April 8, 2025, according to his report. Some of Dr. Barberio’s statements to Det. Mandernack differ from his testimony when he was deposed on Feb. 7, 2025 by Ms. Fameux’s lawyer, Mr. Young, for the divorce case.
“Dr. Barberio advised that initially, Cassandra had been prescribed Risperdal (the brand name of Risperidone), which is an antipsychotic medication that treats conditions such as schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, from 2014 to 2017,” Det. Mandernack wrote in his report. “In 2017, her prescription was switched to Invega Sustenna, because Cassandra was very non-compliant with her medication, Risperdal, which was a daily medication taken in pill form.”
“Dr. Barberio explained that the advantages of Invega, were that it was a monthly injection in the deltoid area, that made it easier to ensure that Cassandra was properly taking her medication as prescribed,” Det. Mandernack’s notes continued.
Mr. Young, the divorce attorney, also wanted to know the reason for the switch, which occurred when Ms. Fameux was hospitalized in 2017. “And during that hospitalization, was there a new medication that you prescribed to her that you began giving to her?” Mr. Young asked Dr. Barberio.
“We went through a lot of medications. We went through, we utilized Risperdal— that was a good medication. But the 2017 hospitalization, we decided to go with an injectable, if I’m correct, and that was Invega Sustenna,” Dr. Barberio responded.
Dr. Barberio “vehemently denied” that the alleged home-visit injections were as “punishment,” as Ms. Fameux told police, according to Det. Mandernack’s notes. He claimed that he only visited the marital home once, in May 2020 during the pandemic, because Ms. Fameux had missed two months of her monthly Invega Sustenna injections.
Dr. Barberio told Det. Mandernack that during that one home visit, it was Dr. St. Claire who injected his wife in his presence.
However, when Dr. Barberio was deposed by Mr. Young on Feb. 7, 2025, he said he was the one who injected Ms. Fameux. “I did go to their house and gave her an injection. That is right in the middle of the pandemic. It’s very clear in my mind,” Dr. Barberio said, according to the transcript. This statement supports Ms. Fameux’s allegation that Dr. Barberio was the one who injected her at home.
In the deposition, Dr. Barberio said he made the home visit in June of 2020.
Hand-written notes by Dr. St. Claire about Ms. Famuex’s medicating, document a visit by Dr. Barberio to inject Ms. Fameux. One line on the sheet states: “Wed May 27th, 2020-Barberio comes to house for shot 1/2 of 234 = 117 mg.”
Another line on the same sheet of paper reads: “(156 mg) June 26th 2020 Friday—IM INVEGA-she went alone to his office (156).”
In the deposition Dr. Barberio claimed he went to inject Ms. Fameux at home in June 2020—he told Det. Mandernack that it was in May 2020, according to Dr. St. Claire’s hand-written notes—due to the pandemic.
Yet the pandemic didn’t seem to prevent Ms. Fameux from going to Dr. Barberio’s office on June 26, 2020, as documented in Dr. St. Claire’s notes.
Det. Mandernack asked Dr. Barberio about Ms. Fameux’s allegations that she was injected with unprescribed Invega Sustenna. “Dr. Barberio clarified that Cassandra was absolutely prescribed Invega by himself,” Det. Mandernack’s report read. “The fact that the Invega was a ‘sample’ simply meant that the medication was stored and regulated by his staff in a medicine cabinet in his building, instead of having to be picked up at a pharmacy by his patients after being prescribed. This saved his clients time and money, according to Dr. Barberio.”
When Dr. Barberio testified during the Feb. 7, 2025 deposition he was less emphatic or conclusive, the transcript shows.
Mr. Young asked him: “Okay. Was all of the Invega prescribed by the hospital or some pharmacy?”
Dr. Barberio responded: “The Invega was ordered by myself. It was—I did send some scripts to Meijer’s, but I have a medication cabinet. And I want to make this perfectly clear: That medication cabinet is Joint Commission certified. Our pharmacy looks at it every month. All those meds are documented and written down. There’s no hidden phenomena associated with that—that medicine cabinet. And the drug companies give me samples, and I utilize those samples.”
Mr. Young persisted, asking: “So there could have been some Invega injections that may not have shown up on a prescription either from Meijer or Sparrow?”
Dr. Barberio avoided a direct response, stating: “They’re all—they all show up—they should all show up in this—these notes.”
During his interview with Det. Mandernack, at some point, Dr. Barberio “printed off an after visit summary from 11/06/2020, showing that Invega Sustenna was indeed, prescribed to Cassandra. This summary showed that Cassandra’s medication was to be picked up at Meijer in Okemos,” according to the detective’s notes. There is no mention of Dr. Barberio printing prescriptions covering 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Meijer Pharmacy is in Okemos, MI.
Det. Mandernack followed up with a logical question, according to his report: “I asked Dr. Barberio why this was, instead of being from ‘samples’ as he originally explained. Dr. Barberio advised that Cassandra was switched to picking up her medication from Meijer due to other patients he had, that were less ‘affluent,’ and may struggle to get a pharmacy or afford the medication. Dr. Barberio also explained that sample medications are intended to be given to patients for free of charge as a way to start them on a new medication.”
Det. Mandernack wanted to know who actually injected Ms. Fameux during her monthly visits to his office. “Dr. Barberio advised that it ‘didn’t matter’ who administered the injections,” Det. Mandernack wrote. “He said that the injections were administered by his nurses, Stacey Bumbalough, and Paula Ackley, both of who were qualified to administer the medication. Dr. Barberio advised that he did not personally administer the injections to Cassandra.”
“I asked Dr. Barberio if her husband, Paul St. Claire, ever administered the injections to Cassandra in his office,” the detective’s report continues. “Dr. Barberio advised that he did administer the injections in his office, sometimes often, because he was a licensed anesthesiologist.” Dr. Barberio was referring to Dr. St. Claire.
Det. Mandernack asked Dr. Barberio if he ever personally heard Ms. Fameux ask that Dr. St. Claire “specifically” be the one to inject her because “it hurt less” when he did.
“Dr. Barberio advised that he never specifically heard her make that statement, but agreed with the idea that she likely felt more comfortable with her husband being the one to administer the medication,” the detective wrote.
When he testified on Dec. 11, 2024 in their divorce trial before Judge Koenig, Dr. St. Claire claimed Ms. Fameux did make that “hurt less” statement in front of Dr. Barberio, according to the transcript.
In the Feb. 7, 2025 deposition for the divorce case, Dr. Barberio also said Dr. St. Claire administered 90 percent of the injections in his office, according to the transcript. This would mean his two nurses administered only 10 percent.
During his own court testimony before Judge Koenig in the divorce case on Dec. 11, 2024, Dr. St. Claire claimed he injected his wife “occasionally” and that the other times the shots were administered by Dr. Barberio and his medical assistants.
“…he would give once a month psychoactive medication into her…” Dr. St. Claire said, according to the transcript.
When Ms. Larson, his lawyer, asked “Who is—who is he?”
Dr. St. Claire responded: “Dr. Barberio.”
It’s unclear whether Dr. Barberio was aware of this testimony by Dr. St. Claire, claiming that he too had injected Ms. Fameux in his office.
The question about Dr. St. Claire’s testimony claiming that Dr. Barberio also injected Ms. Fameux in his office, was also raised by Black Star News in the e-mail message that Ms. Larson didn’t respond to.
Both Dr. Barberio and his lawyer Mr. Sveska also didn’t respond to the same question in the e-mail message sent to them by Black Star News.
During the Feb. 7, 2025 deposition, Dr. Barberio said the Invega Sustenna injections stopped around 2018 when an MRI disclosed that Ms. Famuex had an elevated prolactin level, which plays a role in the growth of pituitary brain tumor. When Mr. Young produced evidence that the injections had in fact continued longer, Dr. Barberio said the injections did resume but at the most minimal dosage level possible which was 39 mg., according to the transcript.
This claim by Dr. Barberio that Ms. Fameux was subsequently administered a lower dose of Invega Sustenna is contradicted by Dr. St. Claire’s hand-written notes documenting Dr. Barberio’s May 27, 2020 home visit. On that occasion, Ms. Fameux was injected with 117 mg, and when she visited Dr. Barberio’s office on June 26, 2020 she was injected with 156 mg, according to Dr. St. Claire’s notes.
Ms. Fameux has said she only found out about the pituitary growth in 2021 when her endocrinologist at Michigan State University informed her.
Additional reported side effects of Invega Sustenna on some patients include: high fever; stiff muscles; confusion; shortness of breath; loss of consciousness; involuntary movements; tremors; muscle stiffness or spasms; abnormal heartbeat; type 2 diabetes; high cholesterol or other lipid disorders; weight gain; seizures; high prolactin levels; and many other ailments.
Ms. Fameux started being medicated with Abilify, an orally administered antipsychotic drug, beginning on March 6, 2021, according to Dr. St. Claire’s hand-written notes.
“I asked Dr. Barberio if, in his professional opinion, Invega could cause Cassandra to be less likely to understand a document she was to read/understand,” Det. Mandernack wrote in his report. “Dr. Barberio advised that Invega, when prescribed to someone suffering from schizophrenia or [redacted] would help to clear their mind, and assist in their ability to read and understand an important document. Dr. Barberio, however, clarified that he had no knowledge of Cassandra being asked to sign anything by Paul St. Claire.”
In contrast to Dr. Barberio’s assessment about the impact of Invega Sustenna injections on a patient’s mind, in an Oct. 30, 2023 affidavit of criminal complaint to Mark Totten, then U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Ms. Fameux stated: “Invega Sustenna is referred to as a chemical lobotomy for a good reason. The drug gave me lower IQ, suicidal thoughts, worsen[ed] memory, slower thinking, loss of emotions, chronicle depression, irregular heartbeat, diabetes, weight gain, liver problems due to weight gain, high level of prolactin which contributed to my pituitary brain tumor in 2021.” (In his defamation case against Black Star, Dr. St. Claire claimed the affidavit contained “disputed allegations” and “false statements of fact.”)
Det. Mandernack also asked Dr. Barberio about him telling Ms. Fameux that she wasn’t schizophrenic.
“I asked Dr. Barberio if he recalled a meeting with Cassandra, in which he told her that he didn’t think [she] had schizophrenia, and that rather she was bipolar,” Det. Mandernack wrote. “I advised him that Cassandra had recorded the conversation, and provided us with it.”
Dr. Barberio didn’t directly answer the question. “Dr. Barberio advised that he believed Cassandra had what was called [redacted] shares similarities with schizophrenia, but also has differences, highlighted by mood swings, which are not present with schizophrenia,” Det. Mandernack wrote.
In the deposition, Dr. Barberio was pressed by Mr. Young about the same issue, the transcript shows. Referring to the same recorded conversation, Mr. Young asked: “And then shortly thereafter, she indicated that she did not believe she was a schizophrenic. Do you recall that statement that she made to you?”
Dr. Barberio: “There was lots of discussions over time regarding that diagnosis.”
Mr. Young: “Okay. And I’ll maybe have you explain that; but you then said ‘No, your’e not,’ in response to, ‘I’m not a schizophrenic.’ Do you recall saying that?”
Dr. Barberio: “I may have said that, yeah.”
Dr. Barberio did say that, according to a copy of the audio-recording heard by Black Star News.
In the deposition, Dr. Barberio said he told Ms. Fameux that she didn’t have schizophrenia in order to “placate” her.
Det. Mandernack also reached out to Judge Koenig’s court reporter and obtained transcripts of the divorce proceedings, according to his notes.
He was provided transcripts from Feb. 6, 2024; March 3, 2024; and Dec. 11, 2024. He wrote that he was able to locate “further information” from the Dec. 11, 2024 court transcript.
At the end of his investigation Det. Mandernack wrote: “Forward to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office seeking a charge of domestic assault against Paul Gregory St. Claire.”
Det. Mandernack signed the report on April 10, 2025.
Police Chief Grillo didn’t respond to an e-mail message from Black Star News about when the report was referred to the prosecutor with the recommendation for the charges.
The author can be reached via [email protected]
Read the Meridian Township Police Department Report below:
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