EXCLUSIVE
A disgraced surgeon has been seen out with his blonde girlfriend in Sydney’s east after devastating fresh claims about the death of two of his patients.
Dr William Mooney was struck off over the deaths and his affair with another patient, and was later caught in a cocaine bust with his girlfriend Gemma Wright in Bondi.
But now he has been rocked by new allegations the grief-stricken mother and sister of one of the dead patients both committed suicide five months after the tragedy.
Last week, Dr Mooney, 59, and Ms Wright both refused to discuss the claims – first aired on A Current Affair (ACA) -as they broke cover for a mid-morning stroll with their dogs outside their home in North Bondi.
Dressed in an oversized white T-shirt, the ear, nose and throat surgeon puffed on a vape before collecting coffees for himself and Ms Wright.
Ms Wright is a former Ozempic sales representative who is now the business manager for Dr Mooney’s relaunched Rhinoplasty Sydney medical practice.
The couple, who have stuck together despite being embroiled in a cocaine scandal one year after he had his registration cancelled, were deep in discussion about the ACA investigation during their morning stroll.
ACA followed Dr Mooney’s movements as he was recently readmitted to practice after he was struck off in 2022 following the death of two patients.
Patient A, whose name is suppressed, was just 24 years old and a student who was working two jobs to help support his family after the death of his father.
In February 2018, he underwent a procedure to fix a snoring issue, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal [NCAT] was told.
Despite excessive bleeding during surgery, Dr Mooney didn’t visit the patient following the operation.
‘He was released and within hours of coming home, he was throwing up blood,’ a family friend told A Current Affair.
Two days later, the patient underwent an emergency operation due to a recurrent haemorrhage and suffered a heart attack. His life support was later turned off.
Another patient had died a year earlier after he went to Dr Mooney for sinus treatment, the NCAT hearing heard.
In November 2017, while attempting to unblock the sinuses of the 41-year-old man, Dr Mooney became disorientated and penetrated the bone below the patient’s brain, the tribunal heard.
This disrupted an artery and caused bleeding into the frontal lobe before that patient also died.
The tribunal also found Dr Mooney had previously conducted a two-year affair with a young woman known as ‘Patient C’, who he first started treating when she was 22.
He had the relationship with the vulnerable patient, diagnosed with anorexia bulimia, whom he treated with botox injections and a nose job over a period of years.
From October 2013, he sent her thousands of messages, went out for dinner with her on one occasion, and prescribed her weight-loss medication despite knowing she had an eating disorder, the tribunal heard.
NCAT disqualified him as a medical practitioner for one year in April 2022.
While serving his ban, Dr Mooney pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine after being busted with a bag of the drug outside his Bondi apartment in October 2022.
Police arrested him when he was spotted getting into a car outside his Bondi Beach unit, only to get out again a short distance down the road.
Suspecting a drug deal, an officer ran after the surgeon, who threw a bag of cocaine on the roadside.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing a prohibited drug in December 2022 and was sentenced without conviction to a 12-month conditional release order.
Dr Mooney has since relaunched his website rhinoplastysydney.com.au and ‘has returned to practice as a specialist ENT surgeon with a focus on functional and cosmetic rhinoplasty’.
He is currently on the hunt for a new practice. In the meantime he’s also teamed up with fellow eastern suburbs surgeon Dr Michael Zacaharia on a stem cell transplant business, Stemortal.
They harvest fat from surgical procedures, processing them into stem cells, and storing for later use, particularly to combat ageing.
Dr Mooney’s website states that he looks forward to continued service to the community, with more than 20 years of experience under his belt.
‘Booking and clinic details will follow. We wish you good health,’ it adds.
He declined to comment on the new allegations when asked by Daily Mail , but issued a statement about his return to practice.
‘Following an NCAT hearing Dr William Mooney’s licence was reinstated in March 2024,’ it read.
‘In their judgment, the NCAT found Dr Mooney had insight and could now be expected to practise in an “honest and ethical manner”.
‘A subsequent appeal by the Medical Council was overturned on all points by the Supreme Court who reiterated the findings of NCAT that there should be no obstruction to Dr Mooney returning to practise.
‘He therefore returns with the support of the NCAT, the College of Surgeons as well as many senior colleagues.’
It added: ‘Dr Mooney has acknowledged and met all requirements of him.
‘He now plans a safe, considered return to practice, as well as restarting his previous philanthropic pursuits including continuing his 30-year involvement in indigenous health outreach, and his pro-bono domestic violence facial trauma clinic.’