The scandal led to . Netflix's latest true-crime series, How to Fix a Drug Scandal, dives deep into a shocking Massachusetts scandal, one that started in the humble confines of an underfunded drug testing lab and ended with an entire system in question. How to Fix a Drug Scandal depicts the role of former Attorney General of Massachusetts Martha Coakley, who was accused of political cover up. She purchased a home there in 2006. Months before Faraks misconduct came to light in 2013, another lab technician named Annie Dookhan was arrested in 2012 after it became apparent that she wasnt even testing the drug evidence; rather, she just marked results as positive so that she could impress her colleagues with her speed and efficiency. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Though Farak was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to jail in 2014, the findings from the state's investigation into the scope of her misconduct were just released Tuesday. "It was Defendant who had the responsibility within the AGO [attorney general's office] to see that the Farak investigation materials were disseminated to the DAOs [district attorneys' offices]," Robertson wrote, adding there is no evidence anyone from the attorney general's office sent the potentially exculpatory evidence to those offices.". It is important to point out that Sonja Farak was considered a typical citizen as she did not fit the stereotype of a drug offender . 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. The special hearing officer found Kaczmarek "displayed no remorse" and was "not candid" during the disciplinary proceedings. DA Ryan on Farak Investigation. Anders Behring Breivik. Unfortunately, Stanley passed away in 2015. Penate alleged Kaczmarek's actions violated his "Brady rights," which require prosecutors to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to defense counsel. Carr said that Farak is a private person. However, it must be said that Linda has maintained a straight backbone about the entire matter. 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. Sadly, theirs weren't the greatest crimes in this real-life drama. However, from the docuseries, it is clear that she remains in touch with her daughters. However, the Netflix docuseries, How To Fix a Drug Scandal, shows us Sonjas moment of weakness, which led her to experiment with the drugs in evidence. She really did, at certain times, tried to stop doing this but couldnt.. Camila Cabello And Shawn Mendes' Full Relationship, Everything To Know About Rihannas 2nd Pregnancy, Stars Who Got Their Start on Reality TV Shows, These Pregnant Celebrities Have Due Dates In 2023, See Blake Shelton's Throwback Pic With Reba, Meghan Trainor Says She 'Can't Walk' After Sex, Five Dead Giveaways Tell Burglars You're Not Home, 40 Things You Can Buy On Amazon For Under $10. ( 2020-04-01) How to Fix a Drug Scandal is an American true crime documentary miniseries that was released on Netflix on April 1, 2020. . Criminals. She was arrested on January 19, 2013. The settlement is the result of a class action lawsuit seeking to reimburse those who had their cases dismissed. Nonetheless, she remains a private person and asks to be left alone. Both were convicted of tampering with the drugs they were testing for evidence in criminal cases, resulting in the state Supreme Judicial Court dismissing tens of thousands of compromised criminal cases. She looked into the western area of the state because it was less expensive and less hectic. The last contact information provided by her, in response to Penates allegations, placed her residence in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She is not active on any social media platform and has kept her distance from the press. AG Healey has also dedicated her efforts to finding fair resolutions for all involved, including advocating for the dismissal of convictions impacted by (Annie) Dookhan and Faraks crimes, and ensuring certain fines and fees are returned to defendants whose criminal charges have been dismissed.. The hotline is open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a . This first-time event, brought to you by GBH in partnership with NPR, PBS and stations across the country, is a celebration of all that #PublicMediaGives people everywhere. Farak pleaded guilty to four counts of tampering with evidence, four counts of theft of a controlled substance from an authorized dispensary, and two counts of possession of cocaine in 2014. Dookhan was. Regarding the cases that she had handled, the Massachusetts courts threw out every case in the Amherst lab during her tenure. In 2012, former drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested for falsifying evidence recovered from alleged drug busts in the state of Massachusetts. She was sentenced in January 2014 after she pled guilty to four counts of theft of a controlled substance from an authorized dispensary, four counts of tampering with evidence and two counts of cocaine possession. "As the gatekeeper to this evidence, she failed to turn over documents, and she adamantly opposed the requests for access. Farak used to take drugs that came in the lab for test of authenticity and used as criminal evidence. NORTHAMPTON Sonja J. Farak told a nurse at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center in Chicopee in December 2013 that she used methamphetamines and other stimulants "whenever she could get her hands on them." And since her job as a chemist was to test drug samples at a state drug lab in Amherst, that opportunity came daily. Three prosecutors connected with the Amherst drug lab scandal failed to disclose evidence and engaged in misconduct, including one prosecutor who actively misled others, a scathing report states. I can guess that it has been very, very painful for her, she said. Very little is known about Farak, the former chemist at the states drug lab, since she has kept a very low profile, even more so after her release from prison. The filmmaker told Oxygen.com that she spent a lot of time thinking about Farak and trying to humanize her. Former chemist Annie Dookhan was convicted in 2013 on charges of improperly testing drug evidence at a drug lab in Boston. A Board of Bar Overseers special hearing officer recently issued these findings in a 98-page decision about former assistant attorneys general Anne Kaczmarek, John Verner and Kris Foster. The cocaine, found in an unsealed, completed drug-testing kit, tested negativemeaning Farak had seemingly replaced the formerly "positive" drugs with falsified substances. Her reporting focuses on mental health, criminal justice and education. In January 2017, after years of litigation, this Court established "a new protocol" for cases affected by the egregious misconduct of another former state chemist, Annie Dookhan. As a teenager, she had attempted suicide. Stream GBH's Award-Winning Content For Parents And Children. When she tried it she did so when others in the lab went out to lunch it met her expectations. This is the story of Farak's drug-induced wrongdoings, and it's the story of the Massachusetts Attorney General's office apparently turning a blind eye on those wrongfully convicted because of Farak's mistakes. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. In a sweeping decision issued on Thursday, Oct. 11, the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed with prejudice every methamphetamine-related conviction from the nine years that former chemist Sonja Farak worked at the Amherst lab, as well as all cases involving drug tests from that lab from Jan. 1, 2009 through Jan. 18, 2013. Each person who has had a case dismissed will receive at least $150. Trump's latest attack addresses DeSantis' overseas trips to the U.K., Israel, Florida's Covid-19 record, and polling support for the 2024 Presidential race. The average amount for each recipient is estimated at $375. This immediately provoked questions about the thousands of cases in which her findings had contributed to the imprisonment of an individual. Episode 1. April 1, 2020. The process of reimbursing people for the biggest drug lab scandals in the nations history is moving forward. The prosecutors have been tied to the drug lab scandal involving disgraced former state chemist Sonja Farak, who admitted to stealing and using drugs from an Amherst state lab. Kaczmarek failed to disclose information and intentionally misrepresented the evidence she had, and worked to actively shut down inquiry and deflect zealous work by Farak defendants counsel who were doing their jobs by requesting evidence of Faraks misconduct, according to the report. She was sentenced to 18 months behind bars, followed by five years of probation and 500 hours of community services, the same year. The place was closed as soon as Faraks crimes came to light. Faraks therapist, Anna Kogan, wrote in her notes that Farak was worried about Nikki finding out about her addiction as well as the possible legal issues if she were ever caught. The difference? She first worked at the Hinton State Laboratory in Jamaica Plain for a year as a bacteriologist working on HIV tests before she transferred to the Amherst Lab for drug analysis. Read More: Best Movies about Drug on Netflix. Faraks sister Amy Farak said her sister excelled at sports. They wrote that she served 13 months and was paroled sometime in 2015. . Join us. In the series, it's explained that Farak loved the energy the meth gave her. Oxygen.com was not able to reach Farak for comment. Am I somebody who took her personhood? Shortly into her role at Amherst, Farak decided to try liquid methamphetamine to ease her personal struggles. Annie Dookhan and Sonja Faraks crimes undermined the integrity of our justice system and impacted thousands of lives, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said when the settlement was reached in June. It was a slippery slope from there, as Sonja went from cocaine to crack cocaine and even LSD. Harmony's brother Jamison asks about her often, the parents say. Former Massachusetts assistant attorney general Anne Kaczmarek prosecuted Farak in 2013. In her June 17 ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson dismissed former Assistant Attorney General Anne Kaczmarek's claims of qualified immunity a doctrine that gives legal immunity to some public officials accused of misconduct. "No reasonable individual could have failed to appreciate the unlawfulness of [Kaczmarek's] actions in these circumstances," Robertson wrote in her ruling. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, on Monday, heard from attorneys representing prosecutors from the attorney general's office over their handling of the 2013 prosecution and arrest of drug. Residents are advised to check for a notice in the mail. You can try, Suspensions and a reprimand proposed for prosecutors admonished in drug lab scandal. The strikes left 34 people injured, including three children, and caused widespread damage. 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. According to an Attorney General Offices report, Farak attended Temple University in Philadelphia for graduate school, which is where she became a recreational drug user. But this wasn't the only drug lab scandal that would rock the state's criminal justice system. She was caught when it was discovered she was high on LSD while testing samples from. The move comes months after the American Civil Liberties Union and the state's public defender agency asked the state's highest court to throw out all of the cases tainted by Sonja Farak, who . Who is Sonja Farak, the former state drug lab chemist featured in the show? When she's not shopping for a living, she enjoys karaoke and dining out more than she cares to admit. The docuseries did note that Farak is still a fan of the Patriots. In her response to the lawsuit, Farak wrote: I agree that I began stealing and using the state labs supply of methamphetamine oil, but I do not recall if it was late 2004 or early 2005 so I cannot agree with the year stated.. Farak saw Kogan in 2009 and 2010, and her therapist wrote: She obtains the drugs from her job at the state drug lab, by taking portions of samples that have come in to be tested., Kogan also wrote that Farak told her she had taken methamphetamines at another lab in an old job, but she didnt get much from it. Kogan wrote that after moving to western [Massachusetts] for her job at the state drug lab, [Farak] tried it again and really liked it. Her mother and sister seem to show no empathy for anyone involved in the cases of Sonja Farak, and only seem to be concerned with how the . Sonja Farak is a former state lab chemist of Masachuttes, America. Farak, a chemist, was later convicted of stealing drugs from the state lab in Amherst. "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. Filmmaker Erin Lee Carrs newest docuseries How to Fix a Drug Scandal shines a spotlight on misconduct on several levels but its primary focus is on a Massachusetts former drug lab technician named Sonja Farak. The series chronicles nine years of misconduct at two Massachusetts drug labs. Soon after, the state police took over the control, and the lab was moved to Springfield, where it remains under the supervision of the state police. The state is notifying people via letters, posting flyers and the settlement notice is available online. Sonja Farak grew up with an interest in sports, and a desire to do well in life. She said, It was about coping; it certainly wasnt about having fun; I dont think shes had fun in quite a while.. While confessed addict Farak was using confiscated drugs as her personal stash Dookhan wasn't even testing her drugs, just pushing all tests through as positive to impress her superiors with her speed and efficiency. I think that this is really painful and difficult that her case is getting re-examined in sort of a public way because, you know, when you put things on a network like Netflix, people are going to talk about it.". Farak has stayed sober, according to the docuseries. Background. As shown in the docuseries, she testified that her childhood was normal and middle class. Linda was married to Stanley M Farak, who was in the US Navy. According to a Rolling Stone profile on Farak and the case, the former chemist has not been heard from since her release. (Courtesy Shawn Musgrave) For the first time ever, the board that disciplines attorneys is recommending a former Massachusetts prosecutor lose her law license for failing to turn over evidence that might have exonerated defendants. post office box as her contact information. Sonja Farak is at the center of Netflix's new true crime docuseries, How To Fix a Drug Scandal. She was struggling to suppress mental health issues, depression in particular, and she tried to kill herself in high school, according to, I could not imagine being high on liquid methamphetamine and hiding it, day in, day out, Carr told, , adding that her initial curiosity surrounding Farak kicked off the making of the docuseries. In the civil suit, she filed her own answer to the lawsuit and hired the services of attorney Susan Sachs. Dookhan married Surrendranath Dookhan, a software engineer, in 2004. She said early recovery was hard because finding employment and housing was difficult with a criminal record and having to pay court fees. She currently keeps a very low profile and is dealing with a pending civil case, but How To Fix A Drug Scandal director Erin Lee Carr reveals to Women's Health that Farak is sober now. 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. On January 6, 2014, Farak pled guilty to the charges against her. READ NEXT: Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts, Sonja Farak: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Criminal. Penate is just one of the thousands of people whose cases were affected by Faraks actions. YouTube The responsibility of the mess that she created should also rest upon the shoulders of her workplace that allowed her the opportunity to indulge so freely in drugs in the first place. Kaczmarek is one of three former prosecutors whose role in the prosecution of Farak later became the focus of several lawsuits and disciplinary hearings. She began working there in 2004 and enjoyed that it was more laid back than the job at Hinton. Instead, Carr strived to create "the three-dimensional portrait" of Farak and figured out how to put that inside her documentary. She played as the starting guard for Portsmouth High Schools freshman team. Listen Live: Classic and Contemporary Celtic, Listen Live: Cape, Coast and Islands NPR Station, Greenway Food Truck Festival promises diverse flavors in the heart of Boston, New heads of Mass Democrats and Mass GOP spar on abortion, The drag show during North Brookfield's Pride celebration will go on, The guy who ate a $120,000 banana in an art museum says he was just hungry, Basic Black: Castle of Our Skins celebrates Black artistry through chamber music. Two Massachusetts drug-testing laboratory technicians are caught tampering with and falsifying drug evidence, and prosecutors are reluctant to disclose the full extent of their criminal behavior. Faraks mishandling of evidence halted in 2013 when she was approached by a state police trooper after some of her drug samples were discovered missing. Now, you might be curious about where Sonjas mother, Linda, is at the moment. (Netflix) A former state chemist, Sonja Farak, made headlines in 2013 when she was arrested for stealing and using drugs from a laboratory. After graduating from Portsmouth High School, Farak attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she got a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry in 2000. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Linda was married to Stanley M Farak, who was in the US Navy. "I think that there has been a decent amount of coverage on Sonja regionally, but it was almost as if it was [only] the really intense partsthat she was smoking crack 10 to 12 times a daybut it didn't super go into her background, and her as a person," Carr explains. Former Massachusetts crime lab chemist Sonja Farak, left, during her arraignment in 2013. The four-part documentary focuses on Dookhan and an independent case of fraud in the drug lab by Sonja Farak. Though the four-part documentary series interviews some of Farak's family members, she does not appear in it herself. F ormer FBI special agent Peter Strzok's wife discovered his affair with FBI lawyer Lisa Page on his phone in 2017, the Justice Department revealed in its response to . First Name Sonja. Farak's findings, and occasional testimony at court about her testing, was used as evidence to convict the person who had been arrested. Sonja Farak. .css-26w0xw{display:block;font-family:NationalBold,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-26w0xw:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-26w0xw{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-26w0xw{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-26w0xw{font-size:1.28598rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-26w0xw{font-size:1.575rem;line-height:1.1;margin-bottom:-0.5rem;}}How To Avoid Unexpected Health Bills. For her wrongdoing, Farak served 18 months in prison and was released in 2015. The Amherst Bulletin reported that her medical records indicated that she only became addicted to drugs once she started working at the lab, in 2004. 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 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. She started bringing drugs home, and doing them first thing in the morning.
