Covid 19 Surfaces at Michigan Jail

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Two inmates at the same jail where two major figures from the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak are being confined have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, but jail officials say no other inmates were exposed to the virus.
Officials at the Livingston County Jail said that the two infected inmates had recently been tranferred from another jail and they had not been released into the general population when the infections were detected. They are currently under quarantine.
Among the other inmates at the jail are Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin, who are awaiting trial on second degree murder charges.
Cadden and Chin are already serving federal prison sentences following their conviction on racketeering and mail fraud charges. Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Chin was a supervising pharmacist in the clean room where fungus laden steroids were produced.
Another former NECC pharmacist, Gene Svirskiy, is scheduled to be released from federal prison later this week and will serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement.
Svirskiy was serving his 30 month sentence at the federal prison in Ayer, Mass. where there has been a covid-19 outbreak.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons official approved Svirskiy's release citing an order from U.S. Attorney General William Barr. Previously U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns denied a request from Svirskiy that he be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement. His sentence is due to end in August of next year.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Outbreak Victims to Get Third Check

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The trustee of a fund for victims of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak says that a third and final distribution is expected next year and $11.5 million already is in hand.
Details on the fund were included in an annual report filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass by Lynne Riley, the trustee. According to her report that final distribution is expected in March of 2021.
"Assuming all funds become available to the tort trustee, these are additional funds that will be included in the third and final distribution in 2021," the report states.
Riley is overseeing the distribution of funds set aside for victims of the fungal meningitis outbreak. The funds were amassed from the bankruptcy of the New England Compounding Center, the company that produced the fungus tainted spinal steroids that sickened hundreds of unsuspecting patients.
As of May 31, Riley reported, a total of 2,353 claims were filed by victims of the outbreak and 2,027 of those claims were fully or partially approved. Those payments totaled $97,659,209.
According to Riley 283 claims were fully denied.
Prior to the distribution to victims, claims from the Medicare and Medicaid programs and private insurers were processed for 1,976 victims, Riley reported, adding that 1,970 victims have now received two payments.
The trustee also reported that separate claims were also paid from settlements with individual health
providers- Inspira Health, Insight Imaging and High Point Surgery Center.
Nineteen claims totaling $2.6 million were paid from Highpoint while 47 claims totaling $12.1 million were paid from Inspira. A total of $34.1 million was paid for 177 claims against Insight.

Cadden/Chin Hearing Postponed

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A final pre-trial hearing in the second degree murder case against two former Massachusetts pharmacists has been postponed till Aug. 19 due to coronavirus concerns.
Victims of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak were informed this morning that the hearing had been postponed.
Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin have been charged with second degree murder in the deaths of 11 Michigan victims of the outbreak. Cadden was a founder and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the company that produced fungus riddled steroids that caused the outbreak. Chin was a supervising pharmacist in the clean room where the tainted drugs were produced.
The hearing, now rescheduled for Aug. 19 at 1:30 p.m., is the final session before District Court Judge Shauna Murphy rules on whether the case against the two will go before a jury.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Instructions to View Michigan Hearing

Here are the directions to view the Wednesday hearing in Howell, Mich. on the second degree murder charges against former pharmacists Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.

Go to www.livgov.com. Once in there, go to the little spy glass on the right hand side and type in Covid-19 emergency and hit “go”, it will bring up Covid-19 Emergency Court Information. Once in there, scroll all the way to the bottom of that page where you will find links to every courtroom. Click on Hon. Shauna Murphy.

Svirskiy Gets Home Confinement

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Just days after a federal judge ruled he should remain in jail, federal prison officials have decided that a defendant in the criminal case stemming from a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak can serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement.
In a notice issued today, the federal Bureau of Prisons concluded that Gene Svirskiy can serve the remainder of his sentence at his Ashland, Mass. home. He has been serving his 30 month sentence at the federal prison in Ayer, Mass.
Late last month U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns had turned down a request from Svirskiy that he be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence at home due to an outbreak of Covoid-19 at the Ayer facility.
Victims of the 2012 outbreak were notified of the decision to release Svirskiy in an email from the U.S. Justice Department.
According to the notice Svirskiy will be transferred on July 1 first to a halfway house and then to home confinement. He has some 20 more months to complete his sentence
The notice to victims states that under a directive from the U.S. Attorney General the Bureau of Prisons is required to place inmates who are at minimal risk of recidivating in home confinement.
Svirskiy, who worked as a pharmacist at the New England Compounding Center, was convicted on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, mail fraud and violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, for his role at the company blamed for the outbreak.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Ronzio Sentencing Delayed Again

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The sentencing for the prosecution's star witness in the criminal case stemming from the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak has been delayed yet again and won't take place until nearly six years after the original indictments.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns, sitting in Boston, Mass., today set a Nov. 3 sentencing date for Robert Ronzio, the former sales director for the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the outbreak.
Ronzio, who entered a guilty plea to a single count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, appeared in multiple trials of his former NECC co-workers. Those included the trials of Barry J. Cadden, NECC's former president and part owner, and Glenn Chin, a former NECC supervising pharmacist.
Chin and Cadden were among 14 persons connected to NECC and its sales arm who were indicted in December of 2014 following a two year probe of the outbreak.
Chin and Cadden are now serving federal prison sentences following their conviction on racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges. Cadden got a nine year sentence, while Chin was given an eight year sentence.
Ronzio's sentencing had been set for July 27. Prior to that an April 22 sentencing date had been set.
At the prior trials Ronzio testified at length about NECC's operations and how they led to the production of contaminated steroids that ultimately killed dozens of unsuspecting patients.
Cadden and Chin, meanwhile, are facing second degree murder charges in Michigan, where many of the outbreak victims resided. A pre-trial hearing is set for June 24 at 8:30 a.m. before Livingston County District Court Judge Shauna Murphy.
She is set to rule whether state prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence for the murder charges to be presented to a jury.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Cadden/Chin Seek Case Dismissal

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Lawyers for the two former pharmacists facing second degree murder charges are asking a Livingston County district court judge to dismiss the charges because state prosecutors have failed to show how 11 patients died following their injection with fungus laden steroids.
In separate briefs filed in Michigan the lawyers for Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin say that the state Attorney General's office also failed to show that the two acted with malice in their roles in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Assistant State Attorney General Gregory J. Townsend, meanwhile has argued that the two should be bound over for trial on the murder charges because probable cause has been shown that the two "committed these 11 counts of second degree murder."
District Court Judge Shauna Murphy has set a June 24 date for a final pre-trial hearing on the case.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the outbreak. Chin was a supervising pharmacist in the clean room where the contaminated steroids were compounded.
In his final 37-page brief Townsend cited "compelling evidence" against the two "establishing the independent basis for conspiracy."
Stating that the charges were properly brought in Michigan, Townsend wrote that "the defendants knowingly created a very high risk of death or such harm would be a likely result of their actions."
Noting that the prosecution presented 16 witnesses and 80 exhibits, the brief also disputes the claim by Cadden's attorney that the charges should be dismissed because a federal jury already has declined to convict his client on second degree murder charges.
"The state should not now be allowed a do-over when all of the relevant evidence has already been presented and found wanting by a jury," wrote Gerald J. Gleeson, Cadden's attorney.
Charging that the attorney general "cherry picked" testimony to present "an exaggerated and inaccurate characterization of NECC's operations,"Gleeson also argued that it was Chin and not Cadden who prepared the tainted drugs.
Chin's lawyer, James D. Buttrey, however, argued that the drugs became contaminated after Chin had done the compounding and he noted that prosecutors failed to produce any evidence on just how the methylprednisolone acetate became contaminated.
Gleeson also raised that issue stating "The state has still failed to put up any evidence as to precisely how the contamination occurred."
In his brief Townsend stated that the both Cadden and Chin were responsible for allowing the unsanitary practices to exist in the preparation of drugs.
"Both defendants were well aware that these practices were both illegal and created a very high risk of death, Townsend's brief states.
"Production, profits and greed were more important than ensuring the health and safety of the public," the prosecution's brief states.
Townsend also disputed Gleeson's double jeopardy claim citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling which held that a state government can pursue state charges even if the federal government prosecuted based on the same events.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Cadden/Chin Michigan Hearing Set

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The final pretrial hearing in the second degree case against two former Massachusetts pharmacists has been set for June 24 in the Livingston District courtroom of Judge Shauna Murphy.
The session, set to begin at 8:30 a.m., will not be open to the public but interested parties can observe the session on YouTube.
The two have been charged with second degree murder in the deaths of 11 patients who were injected with contaminated steroids in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. Following the hearing Murphy will rule on whether prosecution presented enough evidence for the two to be brought for trial.
Barry Cadden and Glen Chin were connected to the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the deadly outbreak. Cadden was president and part owner of NECC, while Chin was a supervising pharmacist in the clean room where the deadly methylprednisolone acetate was compounded.
The two already have been convicted on federal charges, but two separate juries declined to convict them on second degree murder charges.
Here are directions on viewing the session on YouTube:
Go to www.livgov.com. Once in there, go to the little spy glass on the right hand side and type in Covid-19 emergency and hit “go”, it will bring up Covid-19 Emergency Court Information. Once in there, scroll all the way to the bottom of that page where you will find links to every courtroom. Click on Hon. Shauna N. Murphy’s link and that should connect you directly to her courtroom.