By Walter F. Roche Jr.
A federal judge has lifted the lien on the $1.2 million Dedham, Mass. home of two of the defendants in the criminal case stemming from the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
In an order issued today, but dated tomorrow, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns granted the request by Douglas and Carla Conigliaro to release the $250,000 lien placed on one of their residences. It was imposed following their 2014 indictment.
Lawyers for the Conigliaros petitioned for the release noting that their probation sentences - two years for Douglas and one year for Carla - had passed.
The two entered guilty pleas to vastly reduced charges that they made structured withdrawals from bank accounts in violation of federal reporting requirements. They were not charged for involvement in the deadly outbreak that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 patients across the country.
In addition to the Norfolk County home, the Conigliaros own a Beacon Hill condo. They purchased it for slightly less than $4.2 million.
Douglas Conigliaro headed Medical Sales Management, the sales arm for the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the 2012 outbreak.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Monday, September 26, 2022
US Nitrogen Request Approved
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Tennessee environmental officials have quickly concluded that a Greene County chemical firm does not have to seek permits to operate two temporary boilers while its' main boiler is idled for repairs.
In a decision issued today, Doug Wright of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, told officials of US Nitrogen LLC that the agency agrees that the temporary boilers will produce insignificant emissions.
Citing state laws and regulations, Wright wrote that the two boilers are not capable of producing more than five tons a year of air contaminants and thus qualify for the permit exemption.
But Wright cautioned that the examption only applies if the company only utilizes the boilers for 14 days and at the specified rates.
Deviations from the details in the request, he wrote, could be considered as "circumvention of the requirements" of the company's permit.
US Nitrogen requested the "insignificant emissions" categorization, citing the specifications of the two temporary boilers.
US Nitrogen plant manager Dylan Charles told TDEC in a Sept. 15 letter that the boilers were needed so that work could be done on the main boiler, which has apparently suffered a leak, resulting in increases in the water the company uses in its manufacturing processes.
US Nitrogen's primary product is ammonium nitrate used in the production of explosives by its corporate parent, Ohio based Austin Powder.
Contact:wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Tennessee environmental officials have quickly concluded that a Greene County chemical firm does not have to seek permits to operate two temporary boilers while its' main boiler is idled for repairs.
In a decision issued today, Doug Wright of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, told officials of US Nitrogen LLC that the agency agrees that the temporary boilers will produce insignificant emissions.
Citing state laws and regulations, Wright wrote that the two boilers are not capable of producing more than five tons a year of air contaminants and thus qualify for the permit exemption.
But Wright cautioned that the examption only applies if the company only utilizes the boilers for 14 days and at the specified rates.
Deviations from the details in the request, he wrote, could be considered as "circumvention of the requirements" of the company's permit.
US Nitrogen requested the "insignificant emissions" categorization, citing the specifications of the two temporary boilers.
US Nitrogen plant manager Dylan Charles told TDEC in a Sept. 15 letter that the boilers were needed so that work could be done on the main boiler, which has apparently suffered a leak, resulting in increases in the water the company uses in its manufacturing processes.
US Nitrogen's primary product is ammonium nitrate used in the production of explosives by its corporate parent, Ohio based Austin Powder.
Contact:wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Cadden, Chin Case: Key Dates Set
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
A Michigan judge has set a series of key dates in the trial of two rogue pharmacists who are facing 13 counts of second degree murder.
Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hatty issued orders setting the dates for a settlement conference and a hearing by one of the defendants for a so-called bill of particulars, a detailed listing of the evidence and likely witnesses on the specfic charges.
The hearing on a bill of particulars was set for Nov. 10 at 8:30 a.m. The settlement conference is set for Oct. 21 at 1:30 p.m. To this point none of the parties have given any indication of a willingness or desire to settle.
Hatty also set dates for future status conferences - Nov. 10, Nov.17 or Nov. 22- with the caveat that they could be changed if there are scheduling issues.
The orders follow two sessions last week as progress in the longstanding case appears to be speeding up.
Hatty, as a result of last week's session, denied a motion by prosecutors from the state Attorney General's office, for a single trial for both defendants.
The two were charged with second degree murder following state and federal probes of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak which took the lives of more than 100 people, including 13 in Livingson County.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
A Michigan judge has set a series of key dates in the trial of two rogue pharmacists who are facing 13 counts of second degree murder.
Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hatty issued orders setting the dates for a settlement conference and a hearing by one of the defendants for a so-called bill of particulars, a detailed listing of the evidence and likely witnesses on the specfic charges.
The hearing on a bill of particulars was set for Nov. 10 at 8:30 a.m. The settlement conference is set for Oct. 21 at 1:30 p.m. To this point none of the parties have given any indication of a willingness or desire to settle.
Hatty also set dates for future status conferences - Nov. 10, Nov.17 or Nov. 22- with the caveat that they could be changed if there are scheduling issues.
The orders follow two sessions last week as progress in the longstanding case appears to be speeding up.
Hatty, as a result of last week's session, denied a motion by prosecutors from the state Attorney General's office, for a single trial for both defendants.
The two were charged with second degree murder following state and federal probes of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak which took the lives of more than 100 people, including 13 in Livingson County.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Search Goes on for Judge's Remains
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
He was a famous jurist, known as the father of Tennessee jurisprudence, so it was no surprise when the bar association and prominent local lawyers recently sought to give him a more suitable burial site, away from a commercial strip alongside a gas station.
But there has been one serious problem with the effort to relocate the remains of the late Supreme Court Justice John Haywood. They can't find the body.
For years many had assumed his remains along with family members and associates were in close proximity to a monument to the judge off Nolensville Road, on land that had once belonged to his family.
Recently filed documents in Davidson Chancery Court provide extensive details on why it was widely believed his body was at or near the site where the monument is located. But an inch by inch search of the momument site turned up not a trace "of human remains or grave shafts."
A TRC Environment report describes the search effort including slowly scraping back the dirt with a backhoe, later even using human hands when nearing a suspected location. As detailed in the historic records of the Tennessee Supreme Court Haywood was a respected though sometimes controversial jurist.
Self taught, Haywood began teaching aspiring law students after moving to Tennessee where his family owned property. He was named to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1816.
In the pending Chancery Court action, all known relatives were contacted and none raised any objections to the relocation.
One relative who did respond said she supported relocating John Haywood's body, along with his wife Martha and any enslaved remains found on the site.
Hal Hardin, who has played a leadership role in the re-interment effort says the search is not over. If the remains are recovered plans also call for them to be re-interred in the historic Nashville Cemetery.
"We are still on it. We dug and did not find him and are trying to get some radar equipment to assist in the hunt," he said.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
He was a famous jurist, known as the father of Tennessee jurisprudence, so it was no surprise when the bar association and prominent local lawyers recently sought to give him a more suitable burial site, away from a commercial strip alongside a gas station.
But there has been one serious problem with the effort to relocate the remains of the late Supreme Court Justice John Haywood. They can't find the body.
For years many had assumed his remains along with family members and associates were in close proximity to a monument to the judge off Nolensville Road, on land that had once belonged to his family.
Recently filed documents in Davidson Chancery Court provide extensive details on why it was widely believed his body was at or near the site where the monument is located. But an inch by inch search of the momument site turned up not a trace "of human remains or grave shafts."
A TRC Environment report describes the search effort including slowly scraping back the dirt with a backhoe, later even using human hands when nearing a suspected location. As detailed in the historic records of the Tennessee Supreme Court Haywood was a respected though sometimes controversial jurist.
Self taught, Haywood began teaching aspiring law students after moving to Tennessee where his family owned property. He was named to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1816.
In the pending Chancery Court action, all known relatives were contacted and none raised any objections to the relocation.
One relative who did respond said she supported relocating John Haywood's body, along with his wife Martha and any enslaved remains found on the site.
Hal Hardin, who has played a leadership role in the re-interment effort says the search is not over. If the remains are recovered plans also call for them to be re-interred in the historic Nashville Cemetery.
"We are still on it. We dug and did not find him and are trying to get some radar equipment to assist in the hunt," he said.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Friday, September 23, 2022
NECC Defendants Want Lien Lifted
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Two of the defendants in the federal criminal case stemming from the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak have completed probation and want the $250,000 lien lifted on their suburban Boston home.
In a petition filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston a lawyer for Douglas and Carla Conigliaro asked U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to remove the lien since the two have successfully completed their probation.
Carla was given a one year probation sentence, while Douglas served a two year probation sentence. Both were convicted of violating a federal law restricting bank transfers in excess of $10,000.
The 13-room residence is currently assessed at a little over $2 milllion.
The Conigliaros were part owners of the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. They were among 14 persons connected to NECC who were indicted on Dec. 17, 2014 following a two-year probe of the outbreak.
In a related development today a status conference was held in Livingston County Michigan where two people connected to NECC have been charged with 13 counts of second degre murder for their roles in the outbreak. Barry Cadden was president and part owner of NECC while Glenn Chin was a supervising pharmacist.
The session with Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Hatty and lawyers for Cadden and Chin was focused on scheduling sessions and filing deadlines for pending motions in the case.
Those include a motion by Cadden's lawyer to bar the prosecution from using some evidence. That motion is expected to be decided in November with a trial possible in late 2022 or early 2023.
Hatty is expected to issue formal orders next week on those remaining issues.
Two of the defendants in the federal criminal case stemming from the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak have completed probation and want the $250,000 lien lifted on their suburban Boston home.
In a petition filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston a lawyer for Douglas and Carla Conigliaro asked U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to remove the lien since the two have successfully completed their probation.
Carla was given a one year probation sentence, while Douglas served a two year probation sentence. Both were convicted of violating a federal law restricting bank transfers in excess of $10,000.
The 13-room residence is currently assessed at a little over $2 milllion.
The Conigliaros were part owners of the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. They were among 14 persons connected to NECC who were indicted on Dec. 17, 2014 following a two-year probe of the outbreak.
In a related development today a status conference was held in Livingston County Michigan where two people connected to NECC have been charged with 13 counts of second degre murder for their roles in the outbreak. Barry Cadden was president and part owner of NECC while Glenn Chin was a supervising pharmacist.
The session with Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Hatty and lawyers for Cadden and Chin was focused on scheduling sessions and filing deadlines for pending motions in the case.
Those include a motion by Cadden's lawyer to bar the prosecution from using some evidence. That motion is expected to be decided in November with a trial possible in late 2022 or early 2023.
Hatty is expected to issue formal orders next week on those remaining issues.
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Cadden, Chin To Be Tried Separately
From Donna Borton
A Michigan judge has ruled that two former pharmacists will be tried separatly on multiple second degree murder charges.
Following a hearing today Livingston County Circuit Judge James P. Hatty denied a motion by the state Attorney General calling for Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin to be tried together. Lawyers for both defendants opposed the motion.
The two have been charged with second degree murder in the deaths of 13 Michigan patients who had been injected with a steroid highly contaminated with deadly fungus. Those steroids came from the New England Compounding Center where both were employed.
In fact Cadden was president and part owner of NECC. Chin was a supervising pharmacist in the clean room where the deadly steroids were prepared.
Chin and Cadden's lawyers argued that a federal judge had concluded that the two had to be tried separately.
The two were ultimately acquitted by two separate federal juries of murder charges but were found guilty of racketeering and fraud charges.
Prosecutors argued that a joint trial was appropriate because many of the witnesses and much of the evidence against both defendants were the same.
Contact: wallyroche@hotmail.com
A Michigan judge has ruled that two former pharmacists will be tried separatly on multiple second degree murder charges.
Following a hearing today Livingston County Circuit Judge James P. Hatty denied a motion by the state Attorney General calling for Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin to be tried together. Lawyers for both defendants opposed the motion.
The two have been charged with second degree murder in the deaths of 13 Michigan patients who had been injected with a steroid highly contaminated with deadly fungus. Those steroids came from the New England Compounding Center where both were employed.
In fact Cadden was president and part owner of NECC. Chin was a supervising pharmacist in the clean room where the deadly steroids were prepared.
Chin and Cadden's lawyers argued that a federal judge had concluded that the two had to be tried separately.
The two were ultimately acquitted by two separate federal juries of murder charges but were found guilty of racketeering and fraud charges.
Prosecutors argued that a joint trial was appropriate because many of the witnesses and much of the evidence against both defendants were the same.
Contact: wallyroche@hotmail.com
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
US Nitrogen Clarifies Boiler Request
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Acting on a request from Tennessee regulators, a Greene County chemical firm has clarified its request to use two temporary boilers at its plant in Midway.
In a letter sent this week to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, an official of US Nitrogen LLC wrote that the company plans to use the temporary boilers for 14 consecutive days.
During that two week period repairs will be made on the permanent boiler which has sprung a leak. The leak has apparently caused a sudden jump in the volume of water being pumped from the Nolichucky River.
"The intention is to use the temporary boilers on consecutive days while the permanent boiler is repaired," John Shipp of US Nitrogen wrote in the letter to TDEC.
Records filed with the state show the company used 26 million gallons of water in the month of August, an increase of 27 per cent over the prior month.
Shipp wrote in the letter that the TDEC's other request, for data on the specifications on the temporary pumps, already was included in data previously submitted.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Acting on a request from Tennessee regulators, a Greene County chemical firm has clarified its request to use two temporary boilers at its plant in Midway.
In a letter sent this week to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, an official of US Nitrogen LLC wrote that the company plans to use the temporary boilers for 14 consecutive days.
During that two week period repairs will be made on the permanent boiler which has sprung a leak. The leak has apparently caused a sudden jump in the volume of water being pumped from the Nolichucky River.
"The intention is to use the temporary boilers on consecutive days while the permanent boiler is repaired," John Shipp of US Nitrogen wrote in the letter to TDEC.
Records filed with the state show the company used 26 million gallons of water in the month of August, an increase of 27 per cent over the prior month.
Shipp wrote in the letter that the TDEC's other request, for data on the specifications on the temporary pumps, already was included in data previously submitted.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Monday, September 19, 2022
Chin Seeks Separate Trial
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Citing the reluctant ruling by a federal judge on the same issue, the attorney for a former pharmacist charged with 13 counts of second degree murder, is strongly opposing a motion by prosecutors to merge the case with a co-defendant facing the same charges.
In a filing in Livingston County Circuit Court, James Buttrey, the attorney for Glenn Chin, wrote that the two cases must be tried separately because the conduct of the two defendants was not comparable.
The filing comes at the head of a busy week in the case triggered by a 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak that ultimately killed more than 100 patients.
Judge Michael Hatty will hear arguments on Thursday on the state Attorney General's motion to merge the two cases. A day later Hatty is set to hold a scheduling conference on the two murder cases.
In his motion Buttrey stated that the only common element in the two cases was the fact that they were both employed at the now defunct New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the deadly outbreak.
While co-defendant Barry Cadden was president and part owner of NECC, Chin was a salaried employee supervising clean rooms where sterile drugs were prepared.
Buttrey cited the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns who ruled with reluctance that the two cases had to be separated.
Chin and Cadden were acquitted in federal court on similar second degree murder charges. They were convicted, however, on racketeering and mail fraud charges.
In his motion Buttrey said it was inevitable that Cadden would put the blame on Chin, while Chin would blame Cadden.
Though some of the fillings in Cadden's case were filed under seal, his lawyers are also opposing the motion to try the two cases at once. Stearns concluded that it was "one of those rare cases in which antagonistic defenses, coupled with an imbalance of evidence require the severance of trials." "The acts of Mr. Cadden and Mr. Chin are not the same conduct, nor can they be," today's filing states, noting that evidence against Cadden would be inadmissable against Chin.
"Much of the evidence in this case, which is complex and voluminous, is admissable against only one defendant," the filing continues.
The state Attorney General's office, which is prosecuting the case, filed the motion to merge the two cases, citing "judicial economy" and arguing that much of the evidence and witnesses in the two cases are the same.
Buttrey also noted that the case against his client could be ready for trial in eight to 12 weeks, while Cadden's appears to be a year away.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Citing the reluctant ruling by a federal judge on the same issue, the attorney for a former pharmacist charged with 13 counts of second degree murder, is strongly opposing a motion by prosecutors to merge the case with a co-defendant facing the same charges.
In a filing in Livingston County Circuit Court, James Buttrey, the attorney for Glenn Chin, wrote that the two cases must be tried separately because the conduct of the two defendants was not comparable.
The filing comes at the head of a busy week in the case triggered by a 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak that ultimately killed more than 100 patients.
Judge Michael Hatty will hear arguments on Thursday on the state Attorney General's motion to merge the two cases. A day later Hatty is set to hold a scheduling conference on the two murder cases.
In his motion Buttrey stated that the only common element in the two cases was the fact that they were both employed at the now defunct New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the deadly outbreak.
While co-defendant Barry Cadden was president and part owner of NECC, Chin was a salaried employee supervising clean rooms where sterile drugs were prepared.
Buttrey cited the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns who ruled with reluctance that the two cases had to be separated.
Chin and Cadden were acquitted in federal court on similar second degree murder charges. They were convicted, however, on racketeering and mail fraud charges.
In his motion Buttrey said it was inevitable that Cadden would put the blame on Chin, while Chin would blame Cadden.
Though some of the fillings in Cadden's case were filed under seal, his lawyers are also opposing the motion to try the two cases at once. Stearns concluded that it was "one of those rare cases in which antagonistic defenses, coupled with an imbalance of evidence require the severance of trials." "The acts of Mr. Cadden and Mr. Chin are not the same conduct, nor can they be," today's filing states, noting that evidence against Cadden would be inadmissable against Chin.
"Much of the evidence in this case, which is complex and voluminous, is admissable against only one defendant," the filing continues.
The state Attorney General's office, which is prosecuting the case, filed the motion to merge the two cases, citing "judicial economy" and arguing that much of the evidence and witnesses in the two cases are the same.
Buttrey also noted that the case against his client could be ready for trial in eight to 12 weeks, while Cadden's appears to be a year away.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Thursday, September 15, 2022
US Nitrogen Has Boiler Leak
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
US Nitrogen LLC has informed Tennessee environmental officials that because of an apparent boiler leak, the company plans to temporarily use two rented boilers at its Midway manufacturing facility.
In a letter Wednesday to TDEC's Michelle Owenby, US Nitrogen's plant manager Dylan Charles wrote that the leak was only recently discovered and arrangements were just made to rent the boilers.
Stating that depending on the location of the leak the damage could be costly and extensive, Charles said the leak was believed to be in tubing within the boiler.
The US Nitrogen official acknowledged that the state was not given the usual notice for such a request.
Disclosure of the leak comes just days after the ammonium nitrate manufacturer disclosed that water usage at the plant jumped by some 27 per cent in August.
That data was in a monthly report US Nitrogen filed with the state showing the amount of water it pumped from the Nolichuckly River for use in its Greene County plant.
US Nitrogen also submitted extensive data on the temporary boilers to show that they would not increase emissions.
The emissions, Charles concluded, would be insignificant.
He told Owenby the company assumed the pumps would be in operation for just two weeks.
Contact: wfrochejr999@hotmail.com
US Nitrogen LLC has informed Tennessee environmental officials that because of an apparent boiler leak, the company plans to temporarily use two rented boilers at its Midway manufacturing facility.
In a letter Wednesday to TDEC's Michelle Owenby, US Nitrogen's plant manager Dylan Charles wrote that the leak was only recently discovered and arrangements were just made to rent the boilers.
Stating that depending on the location of the leak the damage could be costly and extensive, Charles said the leak was believed to be in tubing within the boiler.
The US Nitrogen official acknowledged that the state was not given the usual notice for such a request.
Disclosure of the leak comes just days after the ammonium nitrate manufacturer disclosed that water usage at the plant jumped by some 27 per cent in August.
That data was in a monthly report US Nitrogen filed with the state showing the amount of water it pumped from the Nolichuckly River for use in its Greene County plant.
US Nitrogen also submitted extensive data on the temporary boilers to show that they would not increase emissions.
The emissions, Charles concluded, would be insignificant.
He told Owenby the company assumed the pumps would be in operation for just two weeks.
Contact: wfrochejr999@hotmail.com
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Michigan AG Moves to Merge Murder Charges
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Calling the cases "inextricably related", the Michigan Attorney General is asking a Michigan judge to merge the cases of two former pharmacists charged with second degree murder in the deaths of 11 patients during the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
In a 15-page motion and supporting brief, Attorney General Dana Nessel stated Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin are both charged with the same crimes and acted in concert to produce the contaminated steroids that caused the deaths of 11 patients.
Repeatedly citing the evidence and testimony during a preliminary hearing on the charges, Nessel wrote that Michigan law and precedent favored joint trials "in the interest of justiice, judicial economy and administration."
Cadden was part owner and president of the New England Compounding Center while Chin was a supervising pharmacist in the clean room where the fungus laden drugs were produced.
The filing notes that the fatal doses were shipped by NECC to the Michigan Pain Specialists Clinic where the 11 patients were injected.
Both Cadden and Chin were acquitted of second degree murder charges in federal court in Boston where a federal judge also ruled that their trials had to be separated. They were ultimately found guilty of federal racketeering, conspiracy and related charges.
Nessel's filing notes that the same witnesses were called against Cadden and Chin in the preliminary hearing and the same evidence was presented.
"Cadden and Chin are charged with the same offenses, comprised of the same course of conduct and transaction," the filing states, adding that "there is no danger of unfair prejudice or confusion of the issues."
Chin, the brief states, was Cadden's "second in command" and ran NECC's clean rooms.
The brief cites the testimony of former NECC employees at the preliminary hearing about the corners being cut and untested drug products being shipped to physicians and clinics.
Those practices included producing "blowouts" with drugs being stored for later use and batching untested drugs with tested drugs.
Citing the "significant overlapping of issues and evidence ," the filing calls on Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Hatty to exercise his discretion and merge the cases.
A hearing on the motion is set for next week.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Calling the cases "inextricably related", the Michigan Attorney General is asking a Michigan judge to merge the cases of two former pharmacists charged with second degree murder in the deaths of 11 patients during the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
In a 15-page motion and supporting brief, Attorney General Dana Nessel stated Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin are both charged with the same crimes and acted in concert to produce the contaminated steroids that caused the deaths of 11 patients.
Repeatedly citing the evidence and testimony during a preliminary hearing on the charges, Nessel wrote that Michigan law and precedent favored joint trials "in the interest of justiice, judicial economy and administration."
Cadden was part owner and president of the New England Compounding Center while Chin was a supervising pharmacist in the clean room where the fungus laden drugs were produced.
The filing notes that the fatal doses were shipped by NECC to the Michigan Pain Specialists Clinic where the 11 patients were injected.
Both Cadden and Chin were acquitted of second degree murder charges in federal court in Boston where a federal judge also ruled that their trials had to be separated. They were ultimately found guilty of federal racketeering, conspiracy and related charges.
Nessel's filing notes that the same witnesses were called against Cadden and Chin in the preliminary hearing and the same evidence was presented.
"Cadden and Chin are charged with the same offenses, comprised of the same course of conduct and transaction," the filing states, adding that "there is no danger of unfair prejudice or confusion of the issues."
Chin, the brief states, was Cadden's "second in command" and ran NECC's clean rooms.
The brief cites the testimony of former NECC employees at the preliminary hearing about the corners being cut and untested drug products being shipped to physicians and clinics.
Those practices included producing "blowouts" with drugs being stored for later use and batching untested drugs with tested drugs.
Citing the "significant overlapping of issues and evidence ," the filing calls on Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Hatty to exercise his discretion and merge the cases.
A hearing on the motion is set for next week.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Fungal Meningitis Study
https://healthcare.utah.edu/publicaffairs/news/2022/09/fungal-meningitis.php
Saturday, September 10, 2022
US Nitrogen's River Water Use Jumps 27%
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
The use of free river water by a Greene County firm jumped by 27 per cent in August to 26.35 million gallons, US Nitrogen LLC disclosed in a report filed this week.
The monthly filing shows the company pumped more than a million gallons from the Nolichucky on 13 days during the month with the highest single day total of 1.5 million gallons coming on Aug. 26.
In the same report sent to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation the Midway chemical manufacturer reported it discharged 11.6 million gallons back into the river.
The August figures show a big jump from the July report which showed the company pumped 20.13 million gallons from the river. The water is pumped from the Nolichucky at mile marker 20.8 and is then pumped by pipeline about 13 miles to the Midway manufacturing facility. The use of the river and the pipeline were authorized by state officials. US Nitrogen's permits require the filing of the monthly reports. According to the new report the company discharged more than 500,000 gallons back into the river on 15 days. A minimal amount was discharged on five days including Aug.27 and Aug. 28. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
The use of free river water by a Greene County firm jumped by 27 per cent in August to 26.35 million gallons, US Nitrogen LLC disclosed in a report filed this week.
The monthly filing shows the company pumped more than a million gallons from the Nolichucky on 13 days during the month with the highest single day total of 1.5 million gallons coming on Aug. 26.
In the same report sent to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation the Midway chemical manufacturer reported it discharged 11.6 million gallons back into the river.
The August figures show a big jump from the July report which showed the company pumped 20.13 million gallons from the river. The water is pumped from the Nolichucky at mile marker 20.8 and is then pumped by pipeline about 13 miles to the Midway manufacturing facility. The use of the river and the pipeline were authorized by state officials. US Nitrogen's permits require the filing of the monthly reports. According to the new report the company discharged more than 500,000 gallons back into the river on 15 days. A minimal amount was discharged on five days including Aug.27 and Aug. 28. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Cadden Seeks Sentence Reduction
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
A lawyer for Barry J. Cadden says his sentence was unfairly increased especially when compared to the increase given to co-defendant Glenn Chin.
Michele Peirce appearing before the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals this week said that while Chin's sentence was only increased by 2.5 years to 10.5 years Cadden's was increased by 5.5 years to 14.5 years. Both sentences were increased after the 1st Circuit determined that the original sentences imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns were too lenient.
Peirce said Stearns offered no explanation for the wide variation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Looney argued that the differences in the sentences were justified by a number of factors including the fact that Chin, unlike Cadden, testified at the sentencing session and took responsibility for the crimes on which he was convicted. He also charged that comments by Stearns cited by Cadden's lawyer were taken out of context.
Chin and Cadden were both connected to the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. Cadden was president and part owner of NECC. Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC, but had no ownership interest in the now defunct company.
The two were convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud.
The hearing marks the second time Cadden's lawyers have sought a reduction in the punishment imposed by the courts.
In an earlier plea (See previous story) Cadden's lawyers said the verdict came after Stearns allowed prosecutors to present prejudicial evidence including testimony by victims and the survivors of victims who died in the deadly outbreak.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmain.com
A lawyer for Barry J. Cadden says his sentence was unfairly increased especially when compared to the increase given to co-defendant Glenn Chin.
Michele Peirce appearing before the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals this week said that while Chin's sentence was only increased by 2.5 years to 10.5 years Cadden's was increased by 5.5 years to 14.5 years. Both sentences were increased after the 1st Circuit determined that the original sentences imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns were too lenient.
Peirce said Stearns offered no explanation for the wide variation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Looney argued that the differences in the sentences were justified by a number of factors including the fact that Chin, unlike Cadden, testified at the sentencing session and took responsibility for the crimes on which he was convicted. He also charged that comments by Stearns cited by Cadden's lawyer were taken out of context.
Chin and Cadden were both connected to the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. Cadden was president and part owner of NECC. Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC, but had no ownership interest in the now defunct company.
The two were convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud.
The hearing marks the second time Cadden's lawyers have sought a reduction in the punishment imposed by the courts.
In an earlier plea (See previous story) Cadden's lawyers said the verdict came after Stearns allowed prosecutors to present prejudicial evidence including testimony by victims and the survivors of victims who died in the deadly outbreak.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmain.com
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Cadden Appeals Verdict and Sentence
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
A three judge panel heard arguments resently challenging the guilty verdict and the 14.5 year prison sentence imposed on the former president of a defunct drug compounding company that has been blamed for a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that killed over 100 patients.
Appearing before the First Circuit Court of Appeals Bruce Singal, the attorney for Barry J. Cadden, also disputed the $82 million financial penalty imposed on his client, who was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center.
Singal said U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns erred in letting the jury hear evidence on second degree murder charges and that prejudicial evidence influenced the jury even though they acquitted him on those 25 second degree murder counts.
"The murder charges shouldn't have gone to the jury," Singal said, recounting government evidence of the painful deaths suffered by the victims and their survivors.
One of the judges noted that a majority of jurors did find Cadden guilty on some of the murder counts, but a unanimous decision was needed for conviction.
Singal also charged that evidence about NECC's standard operating procedures should have been excluded, because the charges related only to the standards set by the U.S. Pharmacopeia, a private standard setting agency.
He said the government should have been required to show evidence that each of the hospitals and clinics knew NECC had promised in its brochures that its drugs would meet the requirements of the U.S Pharmacopeia for the preparation of sterile drugs being injected into patients.
Cadden was one of 14 people connected to NECC who were indicted in late 2014 following a two year federal probe of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. Caddden was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud. His sentence was upped to 14.5 years after an appeals panel concluded that Stearns had been too lenient in setting the sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Looney disputed Singal's claims and said there was sufficient evidence for the murder charges to be presented to the jury and Cadden knew that if the drugs (methyl prednisolone acetate) were contaminated the results would be dire.
He also noted that while Cadden's lawyers conceded that the NECC steroid caused the deaths, the prosecution did not have to accept that concession and had the right to present evidence of the painful deaths caused by NECC's tainted products.
Cadden is also facing 11 second degree murder charges in Michigan, but that case has not yet gone to trial. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
A three judge panel heard arguments resently challenging the guilty verdict and the 14.5 year prison sentence imposed on the former president of a defunct drug compounding company that has been blamed for a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that killed over 100 patients.
Appearing before the First Circuit Court of Appeals Bruce Singal, the attorney for Barry J. Cadden, also disputed the $82 million financial penalty imposed on his client, who was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center.
Singal said U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns erred in letting the jury hear evidence on second degree murder charges and that prejudicial evidence influenced the jury even though they acquitted him on those 25 second degree murder counts.
"The murder charges shouldn't have gone to the jury," Singal said, recounting government evidence of the painful deaths suffered by the victims and their survivors.
One of the judges noted that a majority of jurors did find Cadden guilty on some of the murder counts, but a unanimous decision was needed for conviction.
Singal also charged that evidence about NECC's standard operating procedures should have been excluded, because the charges related only to the standards set by the U.S. Pharmacopeia, a private standard setting agency.
He said the government should have been required to show evidence that each of the hospitals and clinics knew NECC had promised in its brochures that its drugs would meet the requirements of the U.S Pharmacopeia for the preparation of sterile drugs being injected into patients.
Cadden was one of 14 people connected to NECC who were indicted in late 2014 following a two year federal probe of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. Caddden was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud. His sentence was upped to 14.5 years after an appeals panel concluded that Stearns had been too lenient in setting the sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Looney disputed Singal's claims and said there was sufficient evidence for the murder charges to be presented to the jury and Cadden knew that if the drugs (methyl prednisolone acetate) were contaminated the results would be dire.
He also noted that while Cadden's lawyers conceded that the NECC steroid caused the deaths, the prosecution did not have to accept that concession and had the right to present evidence of the painful deaths caused by NECC's tainted products.
Cadden is also facing 11 second degree murder charges in Michigan, but that case has not yet gone to trial. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com