Cadden Forfeiture $ Being Gathered

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Federal officials have begun to take possession of nearly $7.5 million in funds from a former drug company executive who is now serving a nine-year sentence following his conviction on charges stemming from a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Records filed last week in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass. show the funds from investment and savings accounts formerly held by Barry J. Cadden are now in the control of the U.S. Marshall's service. The accounts totaling a little over $100,000, account for a small fraction of the nearly $7.5 million forfeiture order issued against Cadden following his conviction on racketeering and mail fraud charges.
The order was issued by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns, who presided over Cadden's trial. In addition to investment and savings accounts the forfeiture order covers Cadden's Wrentham, Mass. estate which is now on the market for $2 million.
Cadden, 52, was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the now defunct drug compounding company blamed for the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Under a settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office, Cadden and his family agreed to put the Wrentham property on the market with some of the proceeds earmarked for forfeiture. Under the same agreement the Cadden family was allowed to keep possession of a coastal in North Kingston R.I. property in return for the payment of $369,000.
Just what will happen to all the forfeited funds once they are in the hands of federal officials remains uncertain. Prosecutors have stated that they hoped to use the monies to make further restitution to the hundreds of victims of the outbreak.
In any case Cadden has appealed the forfeiture order and that issue must be resolved before any funds can be distributed.
Cadden is serving a nine-year sentence at the federal prison in Loretto, PA. He was recently arraigned in Livingston County Michigan where he and co-defendant Glenn Chin have been charged with second degree murder in the deaths of 11 patients who died in the outbreak.
The forfeiture 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 forfeited Cadden properties now on sale 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, according to real estate listings, has five bedrooms and nine baths. It was originally 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.
The last two NECC defendants, Kathy S. Chin, the wife of Glenn Chin, and Michelle L. Thomas, are scheduled to go on trial at the end of next month. They were among 14 indicted by a federal grand jury in late 2014 following a two year probe of the outbreak which ultimately took the lives of more than 100 patients.
Contact:wfrochejr999@gmail.com