Cadden, Chin Hearing in Michigan

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Eleven second degree murder charges lodged against two former Massachusetts pharmacists will be the subject of a hearing next week before a Michigan judge who must determine whether there is probable cause to believe they committed the crimes.
The two defendants, Barry J. Cadden and Glenn Chin, will not be in attendance however, according to a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The hearing will be held in Livingston District Court in Howell. The session begins at 8 a.m on Tuesday.
Cadden and Chin already are serving federal prison sentences for their roles at the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. They were both convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges as a result of a two year probe of the outbreak.
Kelly Rossman-McKinney, the spokeswoman for Nessel, said the two defendants waived their rights to attend the upcoming probable cause session, but they are expected to attend two days of hearings on the murder charges beginning on Nov. 14.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, while Chin was a supervising pharmacist at the Framingham, Mass. company.
Under Michigan law the judge must decide if facts asserted by the attorney general are sufficient to cause a fair minded person of average intelligence to believe the defendants committed the crimes alleged.
Cadden and Chin were also charged with second degree murder in the federal case but two separate juries cleared them of those charges. Both are serving sentences at federal prisons in Pennsylvania. Cadden is serving a nine year sentence while Chin's sentence is eight years.
Chin and Cadden were brought to Michigan for a hearing in June.
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