NECC Defendants Get Divorced

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Massachusetts judge has granted a divorce to Kathy Chin from Glenn Chin. Both were defendants in the criminal case stemming from the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Norfolk County Judge Patricia Gorman issued a "divorce nisi" on May 18, in the divorce action filed by Kathy Chin on Oct. 1, 2019, court records show.
The divorce action comes as Kathy Chin and a co-defendant, Michelle Thomas, are appealing their convictions.
Glenn Chin is serving an eight year federal prison sentence on racketeering and conspiracy charges and is also awaiting trial in Michigan on 11 counts of second degree murder.
Kathy Chin was given a sentence of two years probation following her conviction for multiple violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Glenn Chin also faces the possibility of his federal sentence being more than doubled pending the results of a July 7 hearing in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass.
Under Massachusetts' no-fault divorce law there is an automatic 90 day waiting period before the divorce can be finalized.
Glenn Chin did not contest the divorce.
Kathy Chin is appealing her criminal conviction and a hearing on that was held last month before a three judge panel of the First Circuit of Appeals.
The Chins were among 14 people connected to the now defunct New England Compounding who were indicted in late 2014 following a two year probe of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
In the pending appeal before the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, Kathy Chin's lawyer has argued that she was merely performing a clerical task when she checked outgoing orders at NECC.
In a 12-page filing last week, Joan Griffin, Kathy Chin's attorney, argued that a prescription was not required because the drugs were being shipped to physicians and clinics and they would actually dispense the drugs.
Federal prosecutors countered that both Chin and Thomas knew the orders bore fake patient names.
The drugs were dispensed under the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, the filing states, adding that the drugs were shipped with Chin and Thomas' approval.
"The government proved that the drugs were illegally dispensed," the prosecution brief states.
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