The Chief Nursing Officer at Twin Cities Community Hospital is named in a lawsuit, alleging he murdered his wife in Florida two years ago. A spokesperson for Twin Cities says he is not currently working with the hospital.
William Gamba is named in the lawsuit, which was filed by Nancy Huhta, the mother of William’s late wife, Blaise Gamba. According to the lawsuit, Huhta was appointed as the Curator of Blaise Gamba’s Estate on Tuesday, in order to file the lawsuit.
According to NBC affiliate WFLA, Blaise Gamba died in November of 2016 off the coast of Madeira Beach in Florida. At the time, investigators said Blaise fell unconscious during a diving mishap in the Gulf of Mexico. She was 37 years old. Investigators said William Gamba also suffered some sort of medical emergency but ultimately recovered. The two lived in Pinellas County, Florida at the time of Blaise’s death.
The lawsuit, however, alleges that William Gamba murdered Blaise. It says Blaise died from injuries “during a suspicious drowning incident that had occurred at a time when the Defendant, William Gamba, was the only other person present and capable of causing her injuries and death.”
The lawsuit says Blaise Gamba was swimming in the water when William “intentionally pulled her underwater from below and held her head underwater until she became unresponsive and it appeared that she had drowned.” It says he then pulled her out of the water and placed her in the boat they were using. Another boater came across the two and tried to help. At the time, that boater told investigators that William Gamba was conducting CPR on his wife. The boater also told investigators that William had his own medical episode shortly later. The lawsuit, however, says Gamba “faked a syncopal episode… to remove any suspicion of foul play on his part and to divert attention away from him as a suspect in his wife’s murder.” The lawsuit says it also prevented him from having to answer questions from first responders.
The lawsuit also says multiple law enforcement agencies have since “initiated criminal investigations into William Gamba’s involvement in the death of Blaise Gamba,” and that those investigations are active and ongoing.
The lawsuit alleges William Gamba intended to cause physical injury and death to Blaise Gamba. It says Gamba was motivated “by his desire to obtain financial gain from life insurance proceeds payable upon the death of his wife as well as proceeds from the sale of her jointly and individually owned assets including the marital home.”
The lawsuit also alleges William Gamba had numerous extramarital relationships.
According to the lawsuit, Blaise Gamba had a diary and had talked about confronting William about his infidelities in the days leading up to her death.
The lawsuit says Blaise Gamba was working with the law firm of Carlton Fields in Tampa, Florida at the time of her death. It says William Gamba had spent his professional career working in the medical field as a paramedic/EMT, and most recently as a nursing/clinical administrator in the hospital setting.
William Gamba was announced as the Chief Nursing Officer at Twin Cities Community Hospital in August. In a statement at the time of his hiring, a hospital spokesperson said he was responsible for all nursing and designated patient care functions.
On Thursday, the hospital issued a statement to KSBY saying, “this matter is not related to the hospital and we do not comment on personal matters related to employees. Mr. Gamba is not currently working at the hospital.”
When asked more specifically if Gamba’s employment had been terminated or if he had been put on leave, the hospital said it would not be commenting beyond the above statement.
The lawsuit says Blaise Gamba earned significantly more money than William did, and that she “provided him with a lifestyle that he otherwise would not have been able to afford.” The lawsuit says the couple purchased a waterfront home in 2013, as well as luxury automobiles, and that if William had divorced Blaise, he wouldn’t have been able to “maintain his luxury lifestyle.”
The lawsuit says Blaise’s life insurance was worth more than $1,000,000 at the time of her death.
The lawsuit says William “has an extensive personal history of fraudulently staging accidents, damage, and injuries for the purpose of collecting insurance payments.” It says he staged the theft of his SUV in the late 1990’s in New York and that he was later paid for the total loss of his vehicle. The lawsuit says he intentionally destroyed another vehicle, as well as a boat in fires in order to recover insurance proceeds.
The lawsuit says the couple was taken to a hospital after the incident, where Blaise eventually died. The lawsuit says William tried to convince others that he was in a “dire situation” like his wife, who was listed in critical condition before dying. The lawsuit says at one point he “forcefully ordered law enforcement officers out of his hospital room claiming to be too sick to converse with them while at the same time he was conversing with others in the hospital room.”
It says he “showed no emotion” as his wife was dying.
The lawsuit says he wanted to move forward with organ donation after Blaise died, even though he “was aware that the circumstances of his wife’s death would result in a State conducted autopsy.” The lawsuit says William Gamba knew that harvesting the lungs for donation would “render her autopsy difficult to use in any criminal prosecution.”
The lawsuit accuses William of trying to conceal “his murder of his wife and to hinder law enforcement’s investigation into her death.” It says he gave conflicting, inconsistent versions of the events surrounding her death.
It goes on to say his actions following Blaise’s death were “highly inconsistent with those of someone who was mourning the loss of a spouse.” The lawsuit says he stopped wearing his wedding ring within a few days of Blaise’s death, sold her automobile, and removed every picture of her from their home. The lawsuit says he also had her wedding ring, engagement ring, necklace, and his own wedding band appraised for resale.
At the time of Blaise’s death, neighbors spoke with NBC Affiliate WFLA.
“They were just the amazing caliber of couple. Just full of life, full of energy, just helped everybody,” said a neighbor who lived across the street from the couple. “He’s an amazing man, she’s amazing. They were just great neighbors. You couldn’t ask for better people, and they were always outside and always available.”
The lawsuit seeks damages for the value of the loss of earnings from the deceased, as well as the mental pain and suffering from the date of the injury and into the future, among others.
