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The story behind the Ottawa doctor obsessed with Shania Twain

Toronto Star
By Katie Daubs and Curtis Rush
March 30, 2011

John Palumbo listed his Ottawa home as the location of his medical practice.

But a neighbour never saw any patients or signage. All she ever heard was music, blasting through the quiet street. It was sometimes Shania Twain.

Palumbo, 51, is a general practitioner with no particular medical specialty. One thing he excels at, according to court records, is getting a little too close to Canada’s country music sweetheart.

On Sunday, Palumbo allegedly showed up at the Junos wearing a Shania Twain T-shirt, clutching her book. The act of fandom landed him in jail for breaching his bail conditions.

Palumbo is no ordinary fan. Documents filed in Palumbo’s divorce proceedings paint the doctor as the kind of fan who has written the superstar eight love letters, showed up at her grandmother’s funeral since he and Twain “are going to be family one day,” and mapped out the similarities he and Twain share, including the fact that they both went through separations in 2008. He has also mailed flowers and showed up near her cottage.

During a 2010 psychiatric assessment where he was deemed him fit to stand trial on a criminal harassment charges he told doctors that Twain’s reaction to his advances “remains to be seen.” He said the letters were not intended to be frightening, and reasoned Twain’s male staff protected her because they “may have some jealousy issues.”

The charges were withdrawn three weeks ago when Twain failed to appear in an Ottawa court.

In the lead up to the trial that never happened, Palumbo was diagnosed with having either delusional disorder or bipolar disorder, according to court records.

The doctor who assessed him wrote he had “periodic psychotic breaks over the years along with much longer periods of relatively good function” and his obsession with Twain is of “delusional intensity.”

During his periods of “relatively good function” Palumbo has accomplished many things.

He married his wife in 1992 and had three children. He was employed as a surgical assistant at the Montfort Hospital in Ottawa. He made enough money to owe $500,000 in back taxes to Revenue Canada.

But since the early 90s, the court record shows that Palumbo has spent time in hospital with mental illness. After he was terminated from his residency at a London hospital, he battled depression. In 1992, he was restless and withdrawn. In 2006, he couldn’t sleep for seven days and started banging his head on the floor when the Nyquil didn’t help. In 2009, he was charged with assaulting his ex-wife. He pleaded guilty, and The Ottawa Citizen reported that he later received a conditional discharge. He was not allowed to see his children.

The house they had lived in – the same house where his practice was listed, was put on the market in 2010 as a “fabulous” family home with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a home theatre and a 3-car garage.

A neighbour who didn’t want to be named said there did not appear to be a medical practice at the Palumbo house. The doctor occasionally “blasted” loud music, including Shania Twain, and Michael Jackson, the latter on the day that Jackson died.

“I just know that it wasn’t a good situation for his wife and kids,” the neighbour said.

Although his musical preference was well known in the neighbourhood, his most recent medical employment was unclear. The CEO of the Montfort Hospital was unavailable to comment on Tuesday. The Ottawa Hospital could not confirm that he had ever scrubbed in on their three sites.

Palumbo remains a member in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, although the regulatory body is monitoring the court proceeding and will “take action if warranted,” said spokeswoman Kathryn Clarke.

According to the college, Palumbo had his licence suspended on Aug. 5, 2009. It was reinstated on July 16, 2010.

The college would not reveal the reason for the suspension.

When asked about his reported mental health issues, Clarke said the college has “processes at our disposal” to investigate whether a doctor is “incapacitated” to practice medicine.

Palumbo will remain in jail until at least April 1, when he has a bail hearing on the alleged breaches of a previous court order.

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