Cadden Forfeiture Agreement Disclosed

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Federal prosecutors have reached a forfeiture settlement agreement with the principal defendant in the criminal case stemming from a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis that will bring in nearly $1 million immediately and millions of dollars more when three properties are sold.
The proposed settlement filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass. will be subject to the approval of U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns.
In addition to Cadden, the one time drug company president, the agreement was signed by his wife Lisa and his three children.
Lisa Cadden had previously petitioned the court to allow her to retain the three Wrentham properties.
Under the agreement some of the properties and assets originally subject to seizure will be retained by the Caddens in return for cash payments to the U.S. Department of Justice. For instance the government will accept payment of $369,000 in lieu of the seizure of a home the Caddens own in North Kingston, R.I.
The original seizure order carried a value of $7,545,501.
Cadden already has appealed the forfeiture order and if his appeal is successful the order could be amended or reversed.
Cadden was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud but cleared of second degree murder charges. He is serving a nine-year sentence at a Western Pennsylvania federal prison in Loretto.
In the petition filed today government lawyers asked Stearns to approve an interlocutory order authorizing the sale of Cadden's Sailfish boat. The government will get half of the proceeds.
The settlement includes payment of $13,387 in lieu of the seizure of Cadden's 2011 BMW and $9,200 in lieu of jewelry placed under the original seizure order and $7,500 in lieu of seizure of an antique clock.
The largest single item under the agreement is a payment of $882,201, representing 50 percent of a
bank account held by the Caddens.
The three properties to be sold are located on Manchester Drive in Wrentham, Mass. They are assessed for a combined total of a little over $1.8 million.
The main house on the three properties with five bedrooms and nine baths is currently listed at just under $3 million.
Federal prosecutors also are seeking some $73 million in restitution from Cadden but Stearns has delayed action on that request until other defendants have their cases resolved. Six of those defendants are scheduled to go on trial Oct. 15.
A total of 14 persons were indicted in late 2014 following a two year federal probe of the outbreak which took the lives of at least 76 patients across the country.
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