State police took these worksheets from Farak's car in January 2013, the same day they arrested her for tampering with evidence and for cocaine possession. (Conveniently, they also found a Patriots schedule from 2011 in the car.). Approximately one year later, she pled guilty to tampering with evidence, unlawful possession, and stealing narcotics. As extensively detailed in How to Fix a Drug Scandal, Farak was arrested on January 19, 2013. Shown results suggesting otherwise, she copped to contaminating samples "a few times" during the previous "two to three years.". "I suspect that if another entity was in the mix"perhaps the inspector general or an independent investigator"the Attorney General's Office would have treated the Farak case much more seriously and would have been much more reluctant to hide the ball," Ryan writes in an email. Dookhan's output remained implausibly high even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts (2009) that defendants were entitled to cross-examine forensic chemists about their analysis. She was ar-rested for tampering with evidence while abusing narcotics at work. Process Notes/Psychotherapy Notes Process notes are sometimes also referred to as psychotherapy notesthey're the notes you take during or after a session. Meier put the number at 40,323 defendants, though some have called that an overestimate. In a separate opinion in October 2018, the Supreme Judicial Court also ordered the state to return most court fines and probation fees to people whose cases were dismissed; one estimate puts that price tag at $10 million. Name. According to the notes, Farak thought it gave her energy, helped her to get things done and not procrastinate, feel more positive., Her partner Nikki Lee testified before a grand jury that she herself had tried cocaine, that she had observed Farak using cocaine in 2000, and that she had marijuana in her house when police officers arrived to search the premises as part of their investigation of Farak., In Faraks testimony during a grand jury investigation, she said that she became a recreational drug user during graduate school and used cocaine, marihuana, and ecstasy. She also said she used heroin one time and was nervous and sick and hated every minute of it [and had] no desire to use [it] again., Farak met and settled down with Nikki Lee in her 20s. On paper, these numbers made Dookhan the most productive chemist at Hinton; the next most productive averaged around 300 samples per month. Dookhan had seeded public mistrust in the criminal justice system, which "now becomes an issue in every criminal trial for every defendant.". Having barely investigated her, prosecutors indicted Farak only for the samples in her possession the day she was caught. Sgt. Farak also had an apparent obsession for her therapists husband, as she was reported to have a folder that shed put together about him, documenting her obsession. The new numbers appear in a report issued by a court-designated "Special Master." email highlighted in the Velis-Merrigan report. The scandal led. At the very least, we expected that we would get everything they collected in their case against Farak. Flannery, now in private practice, said the substance abuse worksheets are clearly relevant to defendants challenging Faraks analysis. Penate's lawsuit, which seeks $5.7 million in damages, is believed to be one of the last remaining suits tied to the scandals; the statute of limitations to file such suits has expired. Hearings could help decide how many of thousands of convictions tainted by Farak's testing may be overturned. It took another three years for the truth to emerge. Listen Live: Classic and Contemporary Celtic, Listen Live: Cape, Coast and Islands NPR Station, Boston nonprofit Street2Ivy is producing this generation's entrepreneurs. She was struggling to suppress mental health issues, depression in particular, and she tried to kill herself in high school, according to Rolling Stone. She was sentenced in 2014 to 18 months in prison and 5 years of probation. Kaczmarek argued the findings are subject to appeal. She started doing drugs almost as soon as she took the job at Amherst, but it was after years of negligence on her superiors part that her actions finally came to light. Sonja Farak is at the center of Netflix's new true crime docuseries, How To Fix a Drug Scandal. | High Massachusetts Lab Chemist Causes Thousands Of Drug Cases To Be Dismissed. Only a few months after Dookhan's conviction, it was discovered that another Massachusetts crime lab worker, Sonja Farak, who was addicted to drugs, not only stole her supply from the. Farak had started taking drugs on the job within months of joining the Amherst lab in 2004. . February 2013 email, to which he attached the worksheets. But absent evidence of aggravating misconduct by prosecutors or cops, the majority ruled, Dookhan's tampering alone didn't justify a blanket dismissal of every case she had touched. But when the relevant police reports were released to defense attorneys, there was no mention of the diary entries' existence, much less that they went back so far. "All Defendant had to do to honor the Plaintiffs Brady rights was to turn over copies of documents that were obviously exculpatory as to the Farak defendants or accede to one of the repeated requests from counsel, including Plaintiffs counsel, that they be permitted to inspect the evidence seized from Faraks car," Robertson wrote in her ruling. It was an astoundingly light touch for the second state chemist arrested in six months. Between Farak and Dookhanwho's also featured in How to Fix a Drug Scandal38,000 wrongfully convicted cases have been dismissed, according to the Washington Post. Because of all that, it's no surprise that Farak was sent to prison in Massachusetts. READ NEXT: Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts, Sonja Farak: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Gainey added that Healey is pleased with their conclusion that prosecutors and the state police acted appropriately. A hearing on their motions is scheduled next month. Shawn Musgrave ", But another co-worker was suspicious, particularly since he "never saw Dookhan in front of a microscope.". Kaczmarek was now juggling two scandals on opposite sides of the state. "A forensic analyst responding to a request from a law enforcement official may feel pressureor have an incentiveto alter the evidence in a manner favorable to the prosecution.". We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. As Solotaroff recounts in detail, Massachusetts attorney Luke Ryan represented two people who were accused of drug charges that Farak had analyzed . She was also testifying in court while high. Massachusetts prosecutors withheld evidence of corrupt state narcotics testing for months from a defendant facing drug charges, and didnt release it until after his conviction, according to newly surfaced documents and emails. Finding that there did not appear to be enough slides in Dookhan's discard pile to match her numbers, the colleague brought his concerns to an outside attorney, who advised he should be careful making "accusations about a young woman's career," he later told state police. ordered a report on the history of her illicit behavior. After serving for 13 months, she was released on parole in 2015. ", In 2004, her first full year at the lab, Dookhan reported analyzing approximately 700 samples per month. You can check your records electronically by following this link: https://icori.chs.state.ma.us. In the only quasi-independent probe of the Farak scandal ever ordered, Attorney General Healey and a district attorney appointed two retired judges to investigate in summer 2015. Because she did so, Plaintiff served more than five years in a state prison.". The special hearing officer found Kaczmarek "displayed no remorse" and was "not candid" during the disciplinary proceedings. Despite being a star child of the family, Sonja suffered from the mental illnesses that haunted her even in adulthood. Joseph Ballou, lead investigator for the state police, called them the most important documents from the car. According to a Rolling Stone piece on Farak, she struggled with depression from an early age, one that hasnt responded to medication. They wrote that Farak attempted suicide in high school and was also hospitalized while in college. ", Officials rushed to downplay the situation in Amherst. He didn't buy her quibbling that there's a difference between an explicit lie and obfuscation by grammar. Deborah Becker Twitter Host/ReporterDeborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. Despite clear indications that Farak used a variety of narcoticsher worksheets mentioned phentermine, and that vial of powdered oxycodone-acetaminophen had been found at her benchKaczmarek also proceeded as if crack cocaine were Farak's sole drug. In fall 2013, a Springfield, Massachusetts, judge convened hearings with the explicit aim of establishing "the timing and scope" of Farak's "alleged criminal conduct.". Former chemist Annie Dookhan was convicted in 2013 on charges of improperly testing drug evidence at a drug lab in Boston. A local prosecutor also asked Ballou to look into a case Farak had tested as far back as 2005. motion with Hampden Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Kinder to see the evidence for himself. Since the takeover, the budget for all forensic labs across the state has been increased, by around twenty-five per cent. In worksheet notes dated Thursday, Dec. 22, Farak Its unclear if Farak is still with Lee, as they have both remained out of the public eye since the case. From the April 2023 issue, Billy Binion Its no big deal, 14-year-old Farak said to the Panama City News Herald. The court also dismissed all meth cases processed at the lab since Farak started in 2004. Farak started at Amherst lab in Aug 2004 p. 32. The actions of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan caused a racket of such a scale that the state had to recompense for it with millions of dollars and had to make a historic move in the dismissal of wrongful convictions. Prosecutors have an obligation to give the defense exculpatory evidence including anything that could weaken evidence against defendants. The number is 888-999-2881. denied Penates motion to dismiss the case, saying there was no evidence that Faraks misconduct extended to his case. According to the documents released Tuesday, investigators found that Sonja Farak tested drug samples and testified in court while under the influence of methamphetamines, ketamine, cocaine, LSD . And both pose the obvious question about how chemists could behave so badly for years without detection. The defense bar also demanded answers on how such crucial evidence stayed buried for so long. Penate is seeking a new trial, contending the conviction should be reversed because of prosecutorial misconduct and evidence tainted by Farak. The governor also tapped a local attorney, David Meier, to count how many individuals' cases might be tainted. Sonja Farak, who worked as a chemist at the Amherst drug lab since 2004, was arrested in January 2013 after one of her co-workers noticed samples were missing from evidence. Together, we can create a more connected and informed world. Dookhan was now spending less time at her lab bench and more time testifying in court about her results. Patrick appointed the state inspector general to look into it. At the time of her arrest, she had resided in 37 Laurel Park in Northampton. Despite her status as a free woman (who has seemingly disappeared from the public eye), Farak's wrongdoings continue to make waves in the Massachusetts courts. Kaczmarek is one of three former prosecutors whose role in the prosecution of Farak later became the focus of several lawsuits and disciplinary hearings. Since then, she has kept a low profile. She received the American Institute of Chemists Award in her final year as well as a Crimson and Gray Award from the school a year before, which recognized her dedication, commitment and unselfishness in the enrichment of student life at WPI. A Rolling Stone piece on Farak also indicated that she graduated with high distinction from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The fact that she ran analyses while high and regularly dipped into samples casts doubt on thousands of convictions. The case of Rolando Penate has become a leading example for lawyers calling for further investigation into alleged misconduct by prosecutors who handled documents seized from Sonja Farak, the Amherst crime-lab chemist convicted of stealing and tampering with drug samples. memo, Kaczmarek told her supervisors that "Farak's admissions on her 'emotional worksheets' recovered from her car detail her struggle with substance abuse. You can try, Suspensions and a reprimand proposed for prosecutors admonished in drug lab scandal. 3.3.2023 4:50 PM, 2022 Reason Foundation | But she worried they might be privileged as health information. During her trial, her defense lawyer Elaine Pourinski said that Farak wasnt taking drugs to party, but instead to control her depression. Investigators gave that information to Kaczmarek and the state AG's office,according tohearings before thestate board that disciplines attorneys. With the lab's ample drug supply, she was able to sneak the drug each day from a jug that resided in the shared workspace. Grand Jury Transcript - Sonja Farak - September 16, 2015. Nassif put Dookhan on desk duty but allowed her to finish testing cases already on her plate, including some of the samples she had taken from the locker. As . a certification of drug samples in Penates case on Dec. 22, 2011. Perhaps, as criminal justice scandals inevitably emerge, we need to get more independent eyes on the evidence from the start. Sonja Farak worked as a chemist for the state of Massachusetts, specializing in identifying illegal substances. It was. May 2003 started working in Hinton drug lab p. 14. Due to the conviction, prosecutors were forced to dismiss more than . The last contact information provided by her, in response to Penates allegations, placed her residence in Hatfield, Massachusetts. This past Tuesday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court filed a report saying that more than 24,000 convictions in 16,449 cases have been dismissed as a result of foul play by a former state drug lab chemist. His report deemed Dookhan the "sole bad actor" at the lab, a finding that remains disputed in some circles. Foster said that Kaczmarek told her all relevant evidence had been turned over and that her supervisor told her to write the letter, though both denied these claims. Powered by. It's been like this forever, or at least since girlhood. In 2019, she was seen leaving the Springfield Federal Court but declined to comment on the status of the case. A status hearing on Penate's suit, which was filed in 2017, is scheduled for July. In 2014, former Amherst drug lab chemist Sonja Farak was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison after it was discovered that she stole and used drugs that she was entrusted to test. T he day Sonja Farak's world unraveled - the day a crack pipe and sliced evidence bags of cocaine were found at her workstation - started like many others: she attended court. Judge Kinder denied Ryans motion. The civil lawsuit was one of the last tied to prosecutors' disputed handling of the case against disgraced ex-chemist Sonja Farak, who was convicted in 2014 of ingesting drug samples she was. Together, we can create a more connected and informed world. Kaczmarek argued for qualified immunity after she was sued by Rolando Penate, who spent five years in prison on drug charges in which the evidence in his case was tested by Farak. Months after Farak pleaded guilty in January 2014, Ryan filed a But unlike with Dookhan, no one launched a bigger investigation of Farak. Two drug lab chemists' shocking crimes cripple a state's judicial system and blur the lines of justice for lawyers, officials and thousands of inmates. Because the attorney general had "portrayed Farak as a dedicated public servant who was apprehended immediately after crossing the line, there was also no reasonto waste resources engaging in any additional introspection.". Psychotherapy Progress Notes, as shown above, can be populated using clinical codes before they are linked with a client's appointments for easier admin and use in sessions. The Attorney Generals Office, Velis and Merrigan and the state police declined to answer questions about the handling of the Farak evidence. Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts. chemist, Sonja Farak, had been battling drug addiction and had tampered with samples she was assigned to test around the time she tested the samples in Penate's case. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); NEXT: Zoning Makes the Green New Deal Impossible. Sonja Farak is in the grip of a rubbed-raw depression that hasn't responded to medication. This not only led to people getting a reprieve from prison but also filing their own lawsuits against the injustice they had to suffer. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2015by which time the current state attorney general, Maura Healey, had been electedthat it was "imperative" for the government to "thoroughly investigate the timing and scope of Farak's misconduct." One thing that How to Fix a Drug Scandal makes clear is that it wasnt all Sonja Faraks fault. TherapyNotes is a complete practice management system with everything you need to manage patient records, schedule appointments, meet with patients remotely, create rich documentation, and bill insurance, right at your fingertips. Kaczmarek, along with former assistant attorneys general Kris Foster and John Verner, all face possible sanctions. Many more are likely to follow, with the total expected to exceed 50,000. If chemists had to testify in person, Coakley warned melodramatically, misdemeanor drug prosecutions "would essentially grind to a halt. It had no surveillance cameras, laughable security on evidence safes, and "laissez faire" management, which the state inspector general determined was the "most glaring factor that led to the Dookhan crisis. Here are those forms with the admissions of drug use I was talking about," a state police sergeant wrote to Assistant Attorney General Anne Kaczmarek, who led Faraks prosecution, in a Kaczmarek argued before the BBO, and in response to Penate's lawsuit, that she was focused on prosecuting Farak and not defendants, like Penate, whose criminal cases were affected by Farak's misconduct. At this point, Farakunlike Dookhandidn't admit anything. A. "he didn't request a warrant. noted the mental health worksheets found in Faraks car, which had not been released. Even though Farak found a job after graduation and was settled down with her partner, she continued to struggle with depression and felt like a stranger in her body. After high school, Sonja went on to major in biochemistry at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in western Massachusetts. The Dookhan prosecution was barely underway, a grand jury having returned indictments a few weeks earlier. Lab's standards on a fairly regular basis beginning in late 2004 or early 2005," the attorney general's report notes in launching its recounting of the chemist's drug-taking journey . Farak struggled with mental health throughout her life, the documentary series explains. Subscribe to Reason Roundup, a wrap up of the last 24 hours of news, delivered fresh each morning. "The gravity of the present case cannot be overstated," Kaczmarek wrote in her memo recommending a prison sentence of five to seven years. In the aftermath of Farak's arrest, it's been argued that because she was under the influence, all of the cases she tested could be considered to have been wrongfully convicted. "These drugswere tested fairly," Coakley claimed the day after Farak's arrest. To multiple courts' amazement, her incessant drug use never caught the attention of her co-workers. But why were a small handful of prosecutors allowed total control over evidence about one of the worst criminal justice failures in recent memory? After she was caught, Farak pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the lab and was sentenced to prison time of 18 months. According to a newspaper article from 1992, she was the first female in Rhode Island to be on a high school football team. Democratic Gov. After contemplating another suicide, she settled on drugs, and the fact that she had such easy access to it at her workplace made it easier for her to get lost in that world. (Featured Image Credit: Mass Live). mentioned a New England Patriots game on Saturday, Dec. 24 which corresponded with a game date in 2011. Chemist Sonja Farak pleaded guilty to "tampering with evidence" back in 2014 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. We couldn't do it without you. The worksheets, essentially counseling notes, showed that Farak had been using drugs often on the job for much longer than the attorney general's office had claimed. The medical records stated that she did not have an existing drug problem that was amplified by her access to more substances. "Whether law enforcement officials overlooked these papers or intentionally suppressed them is a question for another day.". In a 61 ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court in 2017, the defense bar, led by public defenders and the Massachusetts branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), won the dismissal of almost every conviction based on Dookhan's analysismore than 36,000 cases in all. He emailed them to Kaczmareksubject: "FARAK Admissions." As a teenager, she had attempted suicide. In January 2014, she pleaded guilty to evidence tampering and drug possession. In her initial police interview, given at her dining room table, Dookhan said she "would never falsify" results "because it's someone's life on the line." When grand jury materials were eventually released to defense attorneys, then, they did not mention that these documents existed. Her access to evidence was not restricted, and she continued testifying in court. "First, of course, are the defendants, who when charged in the criminal justice system have the right to expect that they will be given due process and there will be fair and accurate information used in any prosecution against them." Farak's reports were central to thousands of cases, and the fact that she ran analyses while high and regularly dipped into "urge-ful" samples casts doubt on thousands of convictions. As federal food benefits decline, Mass. Her role was to test for the presence of illegal substances, which could be instrumental in thousands of . Introduction. 2. Per her own court testimony, as shown in the docu-series, Farak started working at a state drug lab in Amherst in 2004. Episode 2. It declined Farak's offer of a detailed confession in exchange for leniency, nixing the offer without even negotiating terms. (Netflix) A former state chemist, Sonja Farak, made headlines in 2013 when she was arrested for stealing and using drugs from a laboratory. In a rare move, the judicial office that brings disciplinary cases against lawyers in Massachusetts has accused a prosecutor of professional misconduct, including allegations that she failed to share critical information with defense lawyers and attempted to interfere with defense witnesses. One reason that didn't happen, he says: "the determination Coakley and her team made the morning after Farak's arrest that her misconduct did not affect the due process rights of any Farak defendants." wrote to the Attorney Generals Office two days later. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, Sonja Farak is the subject of Netflix's "How To Fix a Drug Scandal. State prosecutors gave Farak the immunity they had declined to grant two years earlier, then asked when she started analyzing samples while high. And when the tests she did run came back negative, Dookhan added controlled substances to the vials.