I met Dr. Benjamin Eric First as his life was ramping up. His maxillofacial surgery practice was on a roll by 2005 – and so was his lifestyle.

Money was no object. It was THE object. Ben’s growing business in New Port Richey, Fla, supported expansion into the nearby city of Palm Harbor, a more affluent area in the Tampa Bay region. We hit it off soon after our wives introduced us. Our houses were about a mile apart. The First family included his wife Mary and three sons. My wife Lucy and I had three children, two daughters and a son, Alex, who was the same age as Ben and Mary’s son, Jared. They often played together, both going to the same elementary school.

Our families grew closer as the years went by. The Firsts were wealthy and gracious, often hosting gatherings for close friends — especially when they moved to a new home purchased in a nearby subdivision from a veteran Boston Red Sox pitcher. It’s where my understanding of Ben fell down and out. His marriage spiraled due to his escapades with hundreds of women while married to Mary for 19 years. Those who knew Ben well ultimately grew weary of his ways, which were slowly and imperceptibly darkening from years of nitrous oxide abuse.

Florida’s Professionals Resource Network (PRN) helped Dr. First retain his license to practice for nearly 20 years. The medical board seemed very distant from Dr. First’s actions and habits, including multiple rehab stints and hospitalizations for overdosing, plus jail time associated with criminal behavior that included domestic violence with strangulation of a girlfriend while also threatening to kill her young children.

The only fault now is to keep turning a blind eye
Way too many signs, far too many oversights. From law enforcement and legal systems that failed to protect Ben’s victims to the medical license that became his calling card for preying on them. Those traumatized cannot turn back the past. The woman he murdered in the end met Dr. First as a patient for herself and one of her adult children.

His skills as a surgeon were well regarded for the most part, until those steady hands lacked a sound mind to guide them. Hands he used to choke out women, fingers that gripped the handle of a Smith & Wessen revolver as he pulled the trigger on an innocent life – and his own, which was a complex mix of good and very bad.

He couldn’t stop himself from himself. It’s not an excuse, just a sordid reality.

My hope is that My Friend Ben helps bring about much-needed change, especially in how impaired doctors are treated, monitored and licensed going forward. Your ears, eyes and response can make a profound difference.

Thank you for taking time out to hear and read the truth. I’m especially grateful for all the people who granted their time and heartfelt perspectives for in-depth interviews. It was extraordinarily difficult for them to come forward and share what happened and why. I feel an obligation to them, the families affected, as well as girlfriends who survived Dr. First’s most insidious and terrorizing afflictions.

You can listen to My Friend Ben on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify and YouTube.