On Thursday , Massachusetts prosecutors announced that they willmove to dismissmore than 6,000 conviction tied to lab results from a chemist caught steal and using drug from the University of Massachusetts Amherst crime science laboratory . In 2014 , Sonja Farak plead guilty to stealing drugs and tamper with grounds after allow in she run lab tests while high on an assortment of drug she ’d stolen from the laboratory . accord to The Washington Post , she told investigators she “ smoke whirl every day at work . ”
For eight years , Farak consume both examination and evidence samples of drugs at the criminal offence lab , including crack cocaine , meth , speed , Ketalar , ecstasy and LSD . The Post reports that co - workersnoticed samples were missingand found trace samples of crack at her work place . Farak admit that she ’d been using drug brought into the science laboratory for criminal instance , siphon small portions of powered drug and replacing them with bake powder . Farak covered her track by altering the database so they would n’t appear missing .
Farak plead guilty , but in testimonial noted that her productivity was n’t affected by her drug use and her coworkers did n’t notice . astonishingly , they testify the same matter in royal court : they did n’t notice any modification in her demeanour .
While the extent of Farak ’s drug use and the cover - up is exceptional , this is n’t the first time thousands of cases have been thrown out over a chemist ’s actus reus . In April , Massachusetts tossedmore than 21,000 casestied to former apothecary , Annie Dookhan . Dookhan admitted to falsify examination outcome and tampering with evidence .
[ AP / Washington Post ]
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