A 56-year-old man is the 11th American to die in the Dominican Republic under mysterious circumstances, adding to the growing mystery of what is happening in the Caribbean island nation.
Fox News reported that Vittorio Caruso, a pizzeria owner on Long Island, died of respiratory failure during a visit to the island last week. He had been staying at the Boca Chica Resort in Santo Domingo.
"We found out he was brought by ambulance to the hospital in respiratory distress after drinking something," Caruso's sister-in-law Lisa Maria Caruso told Fox. "We were told he wasn't responding to any meds he was given and died. I honestly don't know exactly what happened, as we have been told conflicting stories from different people there.
"It is very hard to get a straight story from anyone there. They even wanted to cremate the body. We insisted on having the body sent back here."
Caruso added that her brother-in-law was healthy before his trip.
The FBI is investigating the mysterious deaths of Americans and is conducting toxicology tests on minibar drinks at one of the hotels where the tourists grew ill. Some reports have suggested that tainted drinks may have been responsible for the deaths.
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