NW Ind. doctor who hid in Italy wants trial moved

HAMMOND, Ind. — A former northwestern Indiana surgeon captured in Italy after more than five years on the run wants his trial on federal health care fraud charges moved to another part of the state.

Defense attorneys for Mark Weinberger argue that he can't receive a fair trial at the U.S. District Court in Hammond because extensive news coverage of allegations surrounding his Merrillville surgery practice has prejudiced potential jurors.

Weinberger's attorneys suggested the trial could be moved to the federal courts in Fort Wayne or Lafayette or from the northern Indiana district altogether.

Weinberger is scheduled to face trial in January on charges of billing insurers and patients for procedures he didn't perform.

Weinberger was arrested on an Italian mountain in 2009 after disappearing during a vacation to Greece in 2004.