Glenn Chin, the supervisory pharmacist said to be involved in a deadly nationwide meningitis outbreak, has been sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the Associated Press.
Jurors in the federal trial found Chin not guilty of second-degree murder on Oct. 25, but convicted him of racketeering and mail fraud charges, and scheduled his sentencing trial for January 2018. The prosecution asked for a 35-year sentence, whereas Chin’s attorneys requested three years.
Read more: Jurors Reach Verdict in Meningitis Trial https://www.cemag.us/blog/2017/10/jurors-reach-verdict-meningitis-trial
Chin supervised the cleanrooms at the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., which closed in 2012 after a fungal meningitis outbreak caused by tainted steroid injections killed 64 people in nine states and sickened more than 700 others. Chin had faced federal charges of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of 25 people who were injected with the mold-contaminated steroids. The prosecution accused him of allowing lax cleanroom practices and ignoring unsafe and unprofessional conduct by cleanroom workers.
Read more: Cleanroom QC Agent: Pharmacist Told Me to “[Expletive] Off”: https://www.cemag.us/blog/2017/10/cleanroom-qc-agent-pharmacist-told-me-expletive
According to the Boston Herald, Chin wept as he issued a statement during his sentencing hearing at Boston’s federal courthouse, saying that he’s prayed every day for the victims of the outbreak and that they will “find some sort of peace.”
WCVB reports that Chin’s brother was present in court, but Chin’s wife, Kathy, is not — she is awaiting trial herself, as she was also a NECC employee. A federal appeals court on Jan. 12 wound up reversing a prior decision that had dismissed charges against three NECC pharmacists — Kathy Chin, Michelle Thomas, and Alla Stepanets — who were accused of filling falsified prescriptions. The three had been accused of violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The court reversed the prior dismissal and remanded for further proceedings.
Glenn Chin’s conviction came several months after Barry J. Cadden, former co-owner and president of the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., was acquitted of murder in March 2017. Cadden also faced 25 counts of second-degree murder, but was cleared of these charges after the jury deliberated for five days. Like Chin, Cadden was convicted of racketeering and fraud charges in June 2017, and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Chin plead not guilty to his own charges, and his legal team argued that he was only following Cadden’s orders to “cut corners” during his tenure at the NECC.
Read more: Verdict Reached in Meningitis Case https://www.cemag.us/blog/2017/03/verdict-reached-meningitis-case
