Prosecutors Oppose Chin Acquittal Motion

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Citing prior rulings in a parallel case, federal prosecutors are asking a federal judge to reject an acquittal plea from a pharmacist who played a key role at a drug compounding company that shipped thousands of vials of deadly fungus laden steroids.
In a 25-page filing in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass. prosecutors said Glenn Chin's conviction on racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges should stand and all five of his arguments for acquittal were without merit.
Chin, the government brief notes, was convicted on 77 counts following a five week trial. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 30 before U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Strachan and George Varghese noted that many of the arguments for acquittal  offered by Chin already have been rejected by Stearns in the case of co-defendant Barry J. Cadden. Cadden, who was president and part owner of the now defunct New England Compounding Center, is serving a nine year prison sentence in Pennsylvania.
Cadden and Chin were among 14 persons connected to NECC who were indicted in late 2014 following a two year probe of a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 76 patients and sickened 702 others.
"Chin, like Cadden before him, has presented no new arguments, nor cited any new case that calls into question the court's two prior rulings on this issue," the filing states.
Chin's lawyers had argued that the racketeering and conspiracy charges against him were too vague.
Charging that Chin was a manager of a criminal enterprise that sold "grossly substandard drugs" that were prepared in "filthy conditions."
"The evidence at trial showed Chin conspired with Cadden ... to operate NECC as a criminal enterprise. Chin, in his role as the supervising pharmacist of NECC's clean rooms, was part of that conspiracy," the brief states.
Cited was Cadden's role in using outdated drugs, shipping untested drugs and mislabeling drugs that hadn't been tested to make it appear that they had.
They noted evidence that under Chin's direction, drugs that were supposed to be placed in an autoclave for 20 minutes were only treated for 15 minutes.
They also noted the jury rejected Chin's claim that he was just following orders.
In a related development seven civil suits against a Maryland clinic where victims were injected with fungus laden NECC steroids were dismissed as the result of a settlement.'
Suits by outbreak victims against a Crossville, Tenn. clinic also have been settled and papers were filed this week to create a settlement fund for distribution to victims. Terms of the settlement with the Specialty Surgery Center were filed under seal.