Cadden, Chin En Route to Michigan

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The two principal defendants in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak are apparently on their way to Michigan for a preliminary hearing on the 11 counts of second degree murder leveled against them by the Michigan Attorney General.
According to the federal Bureau of Prisons, Barry J. Cadden and Glenn Chin were temporarily released from separate federal prisons in Pennsylvania. They have been ordered to appear Nov. 14 and Nov. 15 in District Court in Howell, Mich. for a preliminary examination on the second degree murder charges.
District Court Justice Shauna Murphy ruled in September that the two must be present for the two day session.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center and Chin was a supervising pharmacist reporting to Cadden. The company shipped thousands of vials of a steroid contaminated with deadly fungi.
The charges stem from the deaths of 11 Michigan patients who had been injected with NECC drugs.
Lawyers for Cadden and Chin had argued that the two defendants did not need to be present, but Murphy sided with Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend who said he could not recall any case with such serious charges where defendants were not present.
nder Michigan law at a preliminary examination hearing the prosecution has to show that a crime has occurred and it is more likely than not that the defendants committed the crimes.
Cadden and Chin were convicted on racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges in federal court, but two separate juries cleared them of second degree murder charges. Those included five of the cases now charged in the Michigan case.
The action in the Michigan case comes as a three judge federal panel is hearing appeals and cross appeals on the federal charges. A hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Boston, Mass. Neither defendant will be present.
Cadden is serving a nine year sentence and Chin is serving an eight year sentence on their federal convictions.
The two were present in Michigan in February for their formal arraignment on the Michigan charges.
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