Oral Arguments Set in Conigliaro, Carter Appeals

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

An October date has been set for oral arguments in the government appeal of a ruling that cleared the part owner of a drug compounding firm of charges stemming from a deadly outbreak that ultimately took the lives of more than 100 patients.
A three judge panel will hear the appeal of the dismissal of a single conspiracy charge against Gregory Conigliaro at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 27 in federal court in Boston. The hearing will be virtual as the courthouse has been closed to the public.
Arguments will be heard at the same time on a similar charge against former pharmacist Sharon Carter.
Conigliaro was part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the company that shipped thousands of contaminated vials of a spinal steroid to health providers across the country.
The charges against Conigliaro and Carter were dismissed in a June 7, 2019 decision by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns. His ruling overturned unanimous guilty verdicts returned by a jury against both defendants.
In his ruling Stearns adopted the argument put forth by Conigliaro's lawyer; that it was a legal impossibility for Conigliaro to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because the agency itself was unsure of its legal authority over drug compounding firms like NECC.
In a 60-page filing Conigliaro's lawyer, Daniel Rabinowitz, has argued that it would be "unconscionable and unjust" to overturn Stearns' ruling. A similar argument was offered by Carter's lawyer, Michael Pineault.
In a 100-page filing federal prosecutors charged that Conigliaro and Carter were motivated by greed and their actions had "disastrous public health consequences."
The appeals court already has heard arguments on the case against Gene Svirskiy, another former NECC pharmacist, who is appealing his conviction on racketeering and mail fraud charges.
Svirskiy is already serving a 30 month sentence in federal prison.
The appeals court heard arguments on his case and two other ex-NECC pharmacists, Christopher Leary and Alla Stepanets on July 30. Decisions have yet to be issued on those three cases.
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