Conigliaros Get Fines and Probation

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A federal judge today sentenced the majority owner of a defunct drug compounding firm blamed for a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak to one year of probation and a $4,500 fine
The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns against Carla Conigliaro, 53, of Dedham, Mass. the majority owner of the New England Compounding Center.
Her husband, Douglas Conigliaro, 55, who headed a related sale company, was sentenced to two years probation and a $55,000 fine.
The sentences were the same as recommended by federal prosecutors under a plea agreement in which they entered guilty pleas to violating a federal law requiring that bank withdrawals in excess of $10,000 be reported to the federal government.
They admitted to structuring withdrawals under $10,000 from bank accounts to avoid triggering the reporting requirement.
Under the plea deal Carla Conigliaro pleaded guilty to violating the structuring law with withdrawals totaling $4,600.75 while her husband admitted to $119,647 in structured withdrawals.
As part of that agreement federal prosecutors agreed to drop several additional structuring charges.
Though she was the majority shareholder and a board member, prosecutors said she was not involved in the day-to-day operations of NECC.
NECC has been blamed for the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that sickened 778 patients across the country, killing at least 77 of them.
The company shipped thousands of vials of fungus riddled methylprednisolone acetate to health providers across the country.
Another NECC owner, Barry Cadden, and a top company pharmacist, Glen Chin, are scheduled to go on trial on Jan. 5 on second degree murder charges. Others indicted following a federal grand jury probe of the outbreak, are scheduled for trial in April on lesser charges.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com