Chin, Thomas Face December Sentencing

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The final two defendants in the criminal case stemming from a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak will face sentencing in early December.
Kathy Chin and Michelle Thomas were found guilty of multiple violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic on May 2 and this week the two had their motions for acquittal or a new trial turned down in a 10-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns.
Thomas is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. in Stearns' Boston, Mass. courtroom. Chin faces sentencing exactly 48 hours later.
Thomas was found guilty on two counts of violations of the FDCA while Chin was found guilty on four counts. Jurors found that the two also approved the prescriptions with the intent to defraud or deceive. They were both employed at the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the deadly outbreak.
Evidence presented at their four day Spring trial showed they routinely verified prescriptions for obviously fictitious patients including Flash Gordon, Chester Cheeto, Filet O' Fish and Coco Puff.
Prosecutors have yet to recommend sentences for the two, but a co-defendant, Alla Stepanets, got one year of probation following her conviction on six violations of the FDCA. She could have faced up to a year in prison.
Kathy Chin is the wife of Glenn Chin who already is serving an eight year federal prison sentence for his role as a supervising pharmacist at NECC.
Two other NECC defendants are currently serving time in federal prisons. NECC part owner and president Barry J. Cadden is serving a nine-year sentence. Like Chin he was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges.
Gene Svirskiy, a former NECC pharmacist, is serving a 30 month sentence following conviction on racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges. Christopher Leary,who was convicted on mail fraud charges and violations of the FDCA, was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and two years of probation