No Witnesses as Defense Rests in Outbreak Trial.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

BOSTON- Without calling a single witness, lawyers for a man facing 25 counts of second degree murder rested their case today even as prosecutors introduced evidence that hundreds of additional non-sterile drugs were shipped by a drug compounding company to dozens of health facilities.
Glenn Chin's lawyers rested their case after reading from the transcript of the prosecution's closing argument in the recent federal trial of Barry J. Cadden, a codefendant. Cadden was president and a stockholder in the New England Compounding Center, the company that employed Chin as a supervising pharmacist.
Cadden was found guilty of racketeering and mail fraud charges but acquitted of second degree murder. He is serving a nine year prison sentence. Chin is facing the same racketeering, second degree murder and mail fraud charges
In the four paragraph excerpt read by Chin's attorney, Stephen Weymouth, prosecutors stated that the New England Compounding Center was "Barry's baby" and that he was the "master conductor" controlling all aspects of the company operations.
They have also argued that Chin was just an employee doing as Cadden instructed.
Weymouth also read from an email Cadden sent to a prospective customer in which he stated that he started the company and made every important decision on a daily basis.
Closing arguments by federal prosecutors and Chin's lawyer are scheduled for Friday to be followed by instructions from U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns. The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Monday.
Weymouth's announcement that the defense was resting followed testimony by a special agent for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that NECC had shipped additional nonsterile  and outdated drugs to dozens of health care facilities. Those shipments are over and above those included in the indictment of Cadden and Chin.
Joseph Ridgley, the FDA investigator, detailed a long list of  "allegedly nonsterile" drugs that turned up in the NECC investigation.
 He said those contaminated sterile drugs were in addition to multiple shipments of the three contaminated lots of methylprednisolone acetate that went to facilities not listed in the indictment. State and federal officials say the three lots, loaded with deadly fungus, caused the outbreak that sickened 778 patients, killing at least 76 of them.
Prosecutors displayed FDA test reports on some of those drugs nonsterile. Other reports showing contamination were performed by a private testing company on contract to NECC.
He said the list covered nine-pages and was compiled from NECC and bank records.
Health facilities receiving the tainted drugs ranged from a medical center in Albany, N.Y. to a hospital in Belleville, Ill. to a physician and an eye clinic, both in Knoxville, Tenn.
Expired drugs not included in the indictment were sold to physicians in Quincy, Mass. and Victoria, Tenn., and a medical practice in Dickson, Tenn, records show.
Outdated or unsanitary drugs included under the indictment include shipments to Florida, Nevada and New York.
After the outbreak became public in 2012, all of NECC's unused drugs were recalled.
Ridgley also provided a list of drugs compounded by an unregistered NECC pharmacy technician, Scott Connolly, that are not included in the indictment. Connolly is also a defendant in the case and is expected to go on trial with the six other remaining defendants after Chin's trial has ended.
Drugs compounded by Connolly were shipped to facilities in Nashville and Clarksville, Tenn., the 
records show.
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