By Walter F. Roche Jr.
A federal judge has set an Aug. 18 date for the sentencing of a key government witness in the criminal probe of the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Ronzio, who was the sales chief for the New England Compounding Center, testified extensively for prosecutors in the trials of 13 others affiliated with NECC and charged in late 2014 with crimes ranging from racketeering to mail fraud.
Under a plea agreement Ronzio entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Ronzio's sentencing has been postponed and rescheduled multiple times and prosecutors and Ronzio's attorney had asked for an indefinite postponement until the First Circuit Court of Appeals issues a ruling on a pending government appeal.
Prosecutors are seeking to overturn the acquittals of Gregory Conigliaro and Sharon Carter. Conigliaro was an NECC vice president and part owner. Carter was NECC's director of operations.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns agreed to cancel a scheduled June sentencing hearing but declined to approve an open ended delay. Instead he set the Aug. 18 date and the session will be held virtually.
Drugs from NECC were contaminated with deadly fungus, killing over 100 patients and sickening over 700.
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