Chin Easement Requests Denied

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A magistrate judge in Boston, Mass. has turned down a request to ease the restrictions imposed on a former druggist recently convicted on charges of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud.
Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal turned down the request submitted in behalf of Glenn A. Chin, who is awaiting sentencing following his conviction last month.
Chin had asked that a requirement that he wear a location monitoring device be eliminted and that a limit on the hours he is allowed to leave his Canton, Mass. residence be lifted.
 Noting that Chin's recent conviction eliminated any presumption of innocence, Boal wrote that the sole justification offered by Chin for the easements was the need to get his personal affairs in order.
"His current curfew is 8 p.m to 6 a.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekends. This curfew allows Chin more than adequate time to place his personal affairs in order," Boal concluded.
The easement had been opposed by federal prosecutors who noted that Chin was originally placed under arrest as he was preparing to board a plane for China.
Chin has stated that he and his family were only headed to a family event and that he had a return ticket.
Chin was one of 14 persons indicted following a two year probe of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak which was caused by fungus laden steroids prepared by Chin at the now defunct New England Compounding Center. Seventy-six patients died in the outbreak while 778 were sickened.
Chin was charged with second degree murder in 25 of those deaths but the jury cleared him of those charges.
Codefendant Barry J. Cadden, who was convicted on similar charges, is serving a nine year prison sentence. Cadden was president and part owner of NECC while Chin was a supervising  pharmacist at the Framingham, Mass. company.
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