‘Dr. Frankenstein’ vanishes days before trial for allegedly disfiguring patients — jeopardizing US-Brazil relations

WASHINGTON — An unlicensed plastic surgeon nicknamed “Dr. Frankenstein” cut his ankle monitor and disappeared three days before his trial this month for allegedly disfiguring patients in Florida — adding to a diplomatic crisis between Brazil and the US with personal ties to the White House. Joao Araujo — married to a critic of first lady Melania Trump and waging a messy feud with a State Department envoy — vanished on the morning of Aug. 1, avoiding trial on 14 counts, including felonies for grand theft, practicing medicine without a license and fraud at his Miami-area clinic. Four sources close...