Judge to Set Limits on NECC Trial

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The upcoming trial of the remaining defendants in the case stemming from a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak will include time limits for both prosecutors and lawyers for the eight defendants.
In a six-page order issued this week in federal court in Boston, Mass. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns told defense lawyers and prosecutors to submit proposals on those time limits.
Stearns took similar action during the trial of co-defendant Glenn A. Chin. That followed a marathon 10 week trial for Barry J. Cadden.
Cadden was president and Chin a supervising pharmacist at the New England Compounding Center. Both are now serving federal prison sentences.
The remaining eight defendants, who are scheduled to go on trial Oct. 2, were all connected to NECC or an affiliated sales company.
In his order Stearns cited prior rulings in which time limits were imposed and ultimately upheld.
"Although more common in civil cases," Stearns wrote,"time limits in a criminal trial is equally authorized."
He added that limits would have the beneficial effect of relieving jurors of the substantial burden of a drawn out trial.
His order calls for all the attorneys to submit proposed limits exclusive of time for cross examination.
He invited all parties to provide "ex parte under seal" any additional information that might help him in setting the limits such as lists of expected witnesses.
The order comes as defendant, Scott Connolly, another former NECC employee, has agreed to a plea deal under which he will plead guilty to mail fraud charges in return for prosecutors dropping racketeering and a related charge.
In a six-page statement of facts filed along with the plea agreement, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Strachan and George Varghese wrote that Connolly had worked as a pharmacy technician at NECC after he had surrendered his license as a result of an unrelated state Pharmacy Board investigation.
According to the statement Connolly signed on to the company's system using Barry Cadden's user name so that there would be no record of his presence in the clean room where sterile products were prepared.
Connolly, the filing states, prepared cardioplegia, a drug used in open heart surgeries that was shipped to hospitals in seven states ranging from Massachusetts to Florida and Nevada.
Others indicted in 2014 as a result of the deadly outbreak include Douglas Conigliaro and his wife Carla. They entered guilty pleas to reduced charges and were fined but got no jail time. Rob Ronzio, NECC's sales chief, also entered a guilty plea but has not been sentenced.
Cadden is serving a nine year sentence while Chin is serving an eight year term. They were both convicted on racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges.
The outbreak sickened some 178 patients killing at least 76 of them. The steroids produced by NECC contained deadly fungi that caused fungal meningitis and other ailments.
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