Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Renewed Early Release Request Denied.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A federal judge has once again denied a request by a convicted pharmacist to get an early release from prison where he is serving a 30 month sentence for his role in a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
In a two-page ruling issued Wednesday U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns turned down the plea of Gene Svirskiy to serve the remainder of his sentence on home confinement.
Svirskiy had sought the release citing the ongoing pandemic and his prior medical diagnoses.
Svirkiy was one of 14 indicted in late 2014 folloing a two year probe of the fungal meningitis outbreak which ultimately took the lives of more than 100 patients.
In rejecting the request Stearns cited his decision in a prior request in which he said he did not have the legal right to let Svirskiy serve the remainder of his term under house arrest.
Stearns also cited the decision of the warden at FMC Devens, the prison where Svirskiy is incarcerated, who also has turned down Svirskiy's early release request.
Svirskiy was sentenced to the 30 month sentence following his conviction on charges of racketeering, mail fraud and violations of the food drug and cosmetic act.
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Friday, December 18, 2020

NECC Defendant Renews Early Release Plea

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A former pharmacist convicted following a probe of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak is seeking yet again an early release citing, yet again, newly discovered medical evidence.
In a 15-page filing with another 15-pages of highly redacted attachments Gene Svirskiy filed a petition for compassionate release in U.S. District Court in Boston.
Citing "newly discovered" medical records, the petition states that Svirskiy is at high risk of suffering a severe form of Covid-19.
"The personal health risks to Svirskiy are real," the filing states.
As noted in his petition, Svirskiy's prior pleas for early release were denied by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns and the warden at the federal prison in Massachusetts where he has been serving a 30 month sentence. He has served 18 months thus far.
Svirskiy was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy and violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act. He was one of 14 indicted in late 2014 following a two year probe of the deadly fungal menngitis outbreak.
He was employed as a pharmacist at the now defunct New England Compounding Center the company blamed for the outbreak.
In the latest petition filed by Svirskiy's lawyer, Christopher Iaquinto, he acknowledged that an outbreak of Covid-19 at FMC-Devens has abated, but charged that the federal Bureau of Prisons "is not conducting thorough and consistent testing.
As a result, the petition states, the number of Coronavirus cases in the federal system is likely understated.
Contending that Svirskiy has been a model prisoner, the petition concludes,"Svirskiy presents no threat to anyone's safety."
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Thursday, December 17, 2020

Chin To Face Jury on Murder Charges

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Michigan judge ruled today that Glenn Chin, a former Massachusetts pharmacist, must face a jury on charges of second degree murder in the deaths of 11 Livingston County patients.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Hatty issued the ruling following a 30 minute session in which Chin's attorney, James Buttrey, argued that state prosecutors had failed to prove that any action by Chin caused the 11 deaths.
Hatty denied a motion that would have effectively dismissed the charges.
"There isn't any evidence that Glenn Chin caused the contamination," Buttrey said.
Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend, however, said the evidence in the case was overwhelming.
"It was all about greed," said Townsend, adding that actions by Chin and co-defendant Barry Cadden made it likely that patients would suffer death or bodily harm.
Hatty already has ruled that Cadden will have to face a jury trial on the same second degree murder charges.
The two were charged following an investigation of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak caused by steroids riddled with deadly fungus and shipped to healthcare providers in Michigan and some 20 other state.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the company that produced the deadly drugs. Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC and oversaw the clean room where the deadly drugs were comppounded.
Following Hatty's ruling Buttrey asked for a delay in formally issuing the ruling so that he could file an interlocutory appeal. Hatty agreed to delay the formal ruling until the first business day after Jan. 1.
"We don't believe Chin meant to causs death," Townsend argued prior to the ruling. "He just flat out didn't care."
Townsend recounted the testimony of NECC employees who worked under Chin's supervision. When one worker confronted Chin with the possible consequences of NECC's practices, Townsend recounted, Chin replied, "That's why we have lawyers."
Buttrey, however, cited multiple possible causes of the contamination that were beyond Chin's control.
Chin witnessed the proceedings from the Livingston County jail where both he and Cadden have been confined.
The two already have been found guilty of racketeering, conspiracy and violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act but two federal juries declined to convict them of second degree murder as part of a racketeering charge.
Buttrey argued that it wasn't Chin but other NECC employees who placed the steroids in vials prior to their shipment to health providers.
"There isn't any evidence he caused the contamination," Buttrey said.
Hatty, however, concluded that it would be up to a jury to decide whether Chin was guilty of the charges.
"It is certainly a question of fact that a jury must decide," Hatty said.
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Thursday, December 10, 2020

Cadden Must Face Jury on Murder Charges

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Michigan judge ruled today that the president and part owner of the company that caused a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak must face a jury on second degree murder charges for the deaths of 11 victims of that outbreak.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Hatty issued the ruling from his Howell, Michigan court room following a 45 minute hearing.
The decision means Barry J. Cadden will have to face a jury on 11 counts of second degree murder in the deaths of Livingston County patients who died following the injection of steroids contaminated with a deadly fungus.
Hatty said he concluded that the state Attorney General's office had "met its burden" of providing sufficient evidence to believe that Cadden was responsible for the deaths.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the now defunct drug company that shipped out thousands of contaminated vials of methylprednisolone acetate.
The second degree murder charges were brought by the Michigan Attorney General. Hatty's ruling came following a hearing in which Cadden's attorney, Gerald Gleeson, argued that prosecutors had failed to prove Cadden knew what was going on in the clean room where the contaminated drugs were produced.
"He was never in the clean room," Gleeson said.
Gleeson said it was co-defendant Glenn Chin, who oversaw the clean room. Chin, who was also charged with second degree murder, will face Hatty on those charges in a week. Cadden, who observed the hearing from the Livingston County Jail, showed no reaction as Hatty delivered his decision.
Assistant Attorney General Denise Hart argued that Cadden was "100 per cent involved in what went on at NECC. She said it was Cadden who decided to send out drugs without testing.
"He knew what was going on," she said, citing emails produced during prior hearings.
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Wednesday, December 9, 2020

NECC Defendant Cites Newly Discovered Evidence

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A former pharmacist convicted of racketeering in the wake of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak is asking once again for release from prison citing the current pandemic and a previously undisclosed medical condition.
In a 15-page petition filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass., the lawyer for Gene Svirskiy is asking the court to allow him to complete his 30 month sentence under home confinement.
The petition and attached exhibits show Svirskiy plans to return to work as a compounding pharmacist, the same role he played at the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the deadly 2012 outbreak.
In the petition Svirskiy states that he recently uncovered medical records showing that he has a medical condition that makes him susceptible to a severe form of Covid-19. Records relating to that condition were filed under seal with the approval of U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns.
The petition also cites Svirsky's history of smoking and a diagnosis of asthma.
"The personl health risks to Svirskiy are real," the petition states, citing guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Svirskiy was one of 14 people connected to NECC who were indicted in late 2014 after a two year probe of the fungal meningitis outbreak which took the lives of dozens of patients and sickened hundreds of others.
He was convicted of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.
A prior petition for early release was denied by Stearns who said he did not have the legal authority to grant the request.
In the new petition Svirskiy argues that Stearns does have that power and the new evidence shows "extraordinary and compelling reasons" why he should be released.
Stating that Svirskiy has now exhausted all possible administrative remedies, including appeals to the warden at the prison in Central Masachusetts where he is confined, the petition calls on Stearns to grant his request.
The petition acknowledges, however, that the Covid-19 outbreak at his prison has eased, although eight staffers have tested positive for the virus.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Svirskiy To Renew Prison Release Request

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A convicted defendant in the criminal probe of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak is renewing his efforts to get an early release from his 30 month jail sentence.
In a three-page motion filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston, Gene Svirskiy, 39, asked the court to allow him to file part of his upcoming early release request under seal because it contains "private medical information."
The motion, filed in Svirskiy's behalf by his attorney Christopher Iaquinto, states that he intends to file a motion for modification of his sentence and compassionate release.
Svirskiy, who has made several prior attempts at early release, is not scheduled for release until Aug. 26 of next year.
A former pharmacist who worked at the defunct New England Compounding Center, Svirskiy was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy, mail fraud and violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act. He was one of 14 indicted following a two year probe of the deadly outbreak.
Svirskiy has been serving his sentence at the Federal Medical Center Devens in central Massachusetts.
In earlier petitions Svirskiy asked that he be alllowed to serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement. He cited the fact that other inmates at the Devens facility were suffering from Covid-19.
Federal prosecutors opposed the motion and noted that there were no Covid-19 cases in the section of the prison where Svirskiy is confined.
The new motion states that "Sealing is necessary to protect Svirskiy's confidential, private medical information that he has not disclosed publicly through proceedings in this court or elsewhere."
"Medical information is universally presumed to be private not public," the motion states.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns, who also presided over Svirskiy's trial, turned down the request stating that he did not have the legal authority to grant the request.
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Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Cadden, Chin Hearing Reset To Dec. 17

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A hearing on key motions filed by attorneys for two former pharmacists charged with second-degree murder has been rescheduled to Dec. 17.
Lawyers for Glenn Chin and Barry Cadden have asked Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Hatty to overturn the decision of a Michigan district court judge who ruled that there was probable cause to believe the two defendants were guilty of 11 counts of second degree murder.
A hearing on the motions had been scheduled for tomorrow, but will instead be held at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 17.in Livingston Circuit Court.
Cadden and Chin have been charged with second degree murder in the deaths of 11 Livingston County residents who died in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the company blamed for the outbreak. Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC.
The company shipped thousands of vials of contaminated medications to Michigan and some 20 other states.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Michigan AG Says Cadden, Chin must Face Jury

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The Michigan Attorney General says two former Massachusetts pharmacists must face a jury to decide whether they are guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of 11 patients who died after being injected with a highly contaminated drug.
In one 27-page brief filed today in Livingston Circuit Court, the state prosecutor urged Judge Michael A. Hatty to deny motions filed by lawyers for Barry J. Cadden and Glenn Chin that would effectively clear the two of second-degree murder.
Filed by Assistant Attorney Generals Gregory Townsend and Denise Hart, the brief states that Cadden and Chin's actions and inactions caused "great bodily harm and more importantly caused death."
Cadden and Chin's lawyers have asked Hatty to rule that District Court Judge Shauna Murphy was wrong when she ruled that there was probable cause to believe that crimes had been committed and Chin and Cadden had committed those crimes.
Cadden, the brief states, "put production over safety and health at every juncture," as he sought to gain as much profit as he possibly could.
Cadden was part owner and president of the New England Compounding Center(NECC), the company blamed for the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that took the lives of 11 Michigan patients, along with dozens of others from more than 20 states.
As the brief notes Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC working under Cadden's supervision.
Citing testimony of 16 witnesses and 80 exhibits, the brief states that after reasonable cause has been found, it is up to a jury to finally decide whether the two are guilty of second degree murder.
The brief cites testimony from former NECC employees and experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the "outrageously" unsafe and unsanitary conditions at NECC's Framingham, Mass. facility.
Also cited was testimony showing specific instances when NECC, at Cadden's direction, shipped out products before they could be tested. Even when products were tested, NECC submitted far fewer samples than were required.
Other testimony showed how NECC failed to follow national standards for the production of sterile drugs.
"He (Cadden) knowingly created a very high risk of death or great bodily injury," the filing states, adding that prosecutors do not contend that either defendant intended to kill the victims.
Though Chin worked under Cadden's supervision, the brief states that "Chin still had a duty to take the lawful and moral avenue" and not send out unsterile and untested medications. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com