Charges Reinstated in NECC Case

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A federal appeals court has reversed the decision of a district court justice who had dismissed charges against three defendants indicted in the aftermath of the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
In a 19-page decision issued in Boston, Mass. the First Circuit Court of Appeals said the three must face trial on charges that they participated in the distribution of mis-branded drugs.
The decision means two of the three, Kathy Chin and Michele Thomas will face trial along with several other remaining defendants.
The third defendant, Alla Stepanets, had a remaining conspiracy charge that was not dismissed by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns.
Stearns had concluded that the work the three licensed pharmacists performed at the New England Compounding Center was merely clerical because they were matching up a list of drugs with lists of patients. He concluded their tasks did not rise to the level of dispensing.
The appeals court, however, concluded that the three were not merely present, but were "culpably present" when they matched up drugs with what were obviously fake patient names. The names included Wonder Woman, Fat Albert, L.L. Bean and Coco Puff.
The court found the 131 count indictment "easily passes muster" in providing sufficient notice to the three defendants.
"So the indictment gives the defendants enough info to prepare a defense and to invoke double jeopardy protections to forestall a later trial on the same charges," the ruling states.
The three were among 14 indicted in late 2014 by a federal grand jury investigating the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak caused by fungus laden drugs shipped to health facilities across the country.
Some 778 patients were sickened and 76 of them died.
Two of the defendants already have gone to trial and were found guilty of some, but not all of the charges.
Barry Cadden, a part owner and president of NECC, already is serving a nine-year prison sentence while Glenn Chin faces sentencing on Jan. 31 following his conviction on racketeering and mail fraud charges.
Glenn Chin, is the spouse of Kathy Chin.
Several other defendants have entered guilty pleas.