Cadden, Chin Arraigned on Murder Charges

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The president and a supervising pharmacist of a defunct drug compounding firm blamed in the deaths of more than 100 patients were arraigned today in Livingston District Court in Howell. Mich. on second degree murder charges.
The two appeared via a teleconference before Magistrate Jerry Sherwood. Several victims of the 2012 outbreak were on hand for the brief session.
Both face 11 counts of second degree murder under charges filed late last year.
Cadden was represented by local attorney Jerry Gleason while Chin said he could not afford a lawyer. The court will appoint someone to represent him.
Chin asked for the charges against him to be read, while Cadden waived a reading.
"I was surprised at the wave of emotion that washed over me as the charges were being read. It brought me back to my stay in the hospital. As I heard about other people dying I wondered why I was still alive," said Brenda Bansale, one of the victims who attended the hearing.
The two defendants were brought to Michigan last week from separate federal prisons in Pennsylvania where they are serving sentences following their conviction on related racketeering and mail fraud charges.
The two will remain in custody in Michigan pending hearings scheduled for early next month.
Following those sessions Cadden will be transported back to the federal prison in Loretto, PA. while Chin will be returned to the federal prison in Allenwood, PA.
Chin is serving an eight year sentence, while Cadden was given a nine year sentence on the federal charges.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center. Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC and oversaw operations in the clean room where the contaminated drugs were prepared.
The second degree murder charges were filed late last year by then outgoing Attorney General Bill Schuette. Cadden and Chin were also charged with second degree murder as past of a racketeering indictment brought by federal prosecutors, but two separate juries cleared them of those charges.
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