Dr. Edward Auster (born 1923) was an American physician who was renowned as one of the top cardiologists within the continental United States. Educated at Harvard Medical School, Auster took on over 300 cases over the course of his career, even writing a cardiology textbook. Secretly, however, Auster was a severe alcoholic and regularly showed up to work drunk. His alcoholism resulted in Auster negligently causing the death of an 11-year-old girl named Angelic Stivic; though this was pursued in court, the Stivic family accepted a settlement and the case was buried.
In 1990, while positioned as the Chief of Medicine at the Urban Medical Center, Auster showed up to work drunk after a party. He signed off on the administration of meperidine to Suzanne Morton, who arrived at the clinic to pick up antibiotics; Morton had been prescribed phenelzine sulfate by her psychiatrist to treat depression following the death of Morton's mother. The combination of meperidine and phenelzine caused a fatal reaction that her father, Howard Morton, reported to the police. The detectives, Max Greevey and Mike Logan, investigated the matter and arrested Auster for manslaughter.
Auster was prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Stone and Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette, and was defended by defense attorney Phillip Nevins. Though Nevins was initially successful in the trial, during the lunch break, Auster stopped by a local bar to drink six glasses of bourbon due to his addiction; this was witnessed by Greevey, who was asked by Stone to spy on Auster. When the trial resumed, Stone conducted an NYPD sobriety test on Auster, to which he failed. The jury convicted Auster of manslaughter, sending him to prison.