The new numbers appear in a report issued by a court-designated "Special Master." In 2004, she was transferred to the Amherst Lab where . The medical records stated that she did not have an existing drug problem that was amplified by her access to more substances. When testing Penates sample a second time, Farak had taken LSD and the sensation of colors in the wind left her unable to function for work. Still, when Penates lawyers inquired about Faraks drug usage, the Massachusetts state prosecutors refused to give up information. READ NEXT: 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. They were all rendered unacceptable. How to Fix a Drug Scandal premiered on Netflix April 1, and it has told the compelling stories of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan. Her parents were depicted as loving, and somewhat strict. According to the news release from the attorney generals office, workers at the Amherst laboratory contacted state police on Friday to report a discrepancy in the controlled substance inventory held in evidence. How to Fix a Drug Scandal is available now on Netflix. But it turns out that Farak was really high while running some of those tests. Money Heist season 5 on Netflix: Will there be a La Casa de Papel part 5? Her job was to define whether a substance someone was caught carrying was really cocaine, meth, or something else. In 2017, Rolando Penate filed a $5.7 million lawsuit against 18 defendants, including Farak. 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. Yet, the cases of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhanbecame "one of the largest mass dismissals of criminal convictions in United States history." Please limit your input to 500 characters. Farak worked for the Amherst Drug Lab in Massachusetts for 9 years when she was convicted of stealing and using them. Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Arabic, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Chinese, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Haitian, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Portuguese, Notice of Rights to Challenge Conviction:Spanish, Notice of Rights to Challenge Conviction:Haitian Creole, Notice of Rights to Challenge Conviction:Khmer, Notice of Rights to Challenge Conviction:Portuguese, Notice of Rights to Challenge Conviction:Vietnamese, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice:Spanish, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice:Arabic, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice:Chinese, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice:Haitian Creole, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice:Khmer, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice:Portuguese, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice:Russian, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice:Vietnamese, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants talks about your rights in this informational video, Stacy Foster et al vs. Commonwealth of Massachusetts Settlement, contact the Executive Office of the Trial Court. Since Farak makes one half of the scandal, heres what you need to know about what she did and where she is now. Episode 2. Commonwealth Magazine - After rare public trial, disciplinary case now in hands of hearing officer THE JANUARY 2013 drug arrest of disgraced Massachusetts state chemist Sonja Farak and its impact on thousands of drug cases was widely reported as it unfolded, and memorialized to devastating effect in Netflix's docu-series How to Fix a Drug Scandal. . She states "you aren't going to find a Forensic Files or a CSI: Miamithat covers a drug case." She grew up in Portsmouth with her sister Amy. [5] The actions of both women, who acted independently, resulted in tens of thousands of drug counts being dismissed, the largest single mass dismissal of criminal cases in U.S. How to Fix a Drug Scandal 's four episodes break down how chemists Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan tampered with evidence from tens of thousands of cases. Since her release, she has kept a low profile and managed to stay out of the public . Her ar-rest led to the dismissal of thousands of drug cases in Massachusetts. 1. (857) 321-8360dmarx@fickmarx.comwfick@fickmarx.com. She started working shortly after for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in July 2003 until July 2012, and from July 2012 until January 2013 for the Massachusetts State Police when the lab fell under their jurisdiction. She started off doing drugs at work regularly she worked while on meth, liquid amphetamine, LSD, coke and crack. 2023 Cable News Network. Its unclear if she still owns the property and if she lives there now. For How to Fix a Drug Scandal, the story is about two women who start the scandals. 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. That is as much public exposure as shes opened herself up to since her release from jail. Boston, MA 02110 Mucha gente que vio el programa se pregunta: dnde est Sonja Farak ahora? In the documentary, an actress plays Sonja Farak for B-roll scenes, and that actress is Shannon ONeill. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. A search of her bag later showed the ingredients for cooking her own cocaine: baking soda, candle wax, and modeling clay, along with utensils that she could use to make it. Approximately one year later, she pled guilty to tampering with evidence, unlawful possession, and stealing narcotics. Sonja Farak worked as a chemist for the state of Massachusetts, specializing in identifying illegal substances. Kaczmarek, along with former assistant attorneys general Kris Foster and John Verner, all face possible sanctions. According to the ACLU, she became a voice for the ACLU in 2012, which is right around the time when the Sonja Farak case exploded. Copies of the notice letter, in English, Spanish, and other languages, are posted below. Deborah Becker Twitter Host/ReporterDeborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. A status hearing on Penate's suit, which was filed in 2017, is scheduled for July. 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. Lets find out. Her first doc was Thought Crimes: The Case . Sonja received a job as a chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory building in Jamaica Plain after getting her college degree. Another chemist was accused of tampering, affecting 34,000 drug cases, in October. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. You can find copies of the Dookhan Notice Letterbelow. appreciated. Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts. A preliminary investigation found that Dookhan may have touched 60,000 samples that were involved in 34,000 drug cases. That settlement awaits approval by a judge. She had been accused of "intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to the conspiracy to violate [Penate's] civil rights.". Hanchett found a leftover beaker with a white residue on it. In 2018, the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed an additional 16,000 drug convictions because of former chemist Sonja Farak's malfeasance at the State Laboratory Institute in Amherst (Amherst Drug Lab) between 2004 and 2013. I actually smoked in the evidence room. Penate had been arrested in 2011 for selling heroin. More than 24,000 convictions in 16,449 cases tainted by former state chemist Sonja Farak have been dismissed in a court case brought by the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Committee of Public Counsel Services (CPCS), and law firm Fick & Marx LLP. He was most recently a reporter at The Lowell Sun. When Sonja graduated high school in 1996, she didnt just attain various varsity letters for sports. Farak is one of two Massachusetts drug lab technicians who were caught tainting evidence that was . Sonja Farak, who works at a lab in Amherst, in western Massachusetts, removed from a case file a substance that tested positive for cocaine and replaced it with one that didn't, state Attorney . Its unclear if Farak is still with Lee, as they have both remained out of the public eye since the case. She isnt on drugs anymore, and I think that that is incredible, Carr, who also directed the true-crime documentaries I Love You, Now Die and Mommy Dead and Dearest, told Womens Health. The number is. Luke Ryan Photo: Netflix "How to Fix a Drug Scandal" documents the riveting details about how a . Rick Sobey is a multimedia, general assignment reporter -- covering breaking news, politics and more across the region. Episode 1. I think shes a good person, she said. Initially, she had represented herself in answer to the complaints lodged against her, but later, she turned to Susan Sachs, who represented her since, not just on the Penate lawsuit, but also on any other case that emerged as the result of her actions in Amherst. I want to be accepted like one of them, Sonja said during the local news segment, included in the docuseries. . She Was Born in 1978 & Raised in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Carr weaves Farak's story into that of another Massachusetts chemist, Annie Dookhan, who worked across the state at the Hinton drug lab in Boston. If she puts her mind to something, she can do it, Amy told the producers of How to Fix a Drug Scandal.. Penate's suit said Kaczmarek withheld evidence that Farak used drugs at the lab for longer than the Massachusetts attorney general's office first claimed, and that he would not have been imprisoned based on tainted evidence. 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. Because of Ms. Faraks misconduct, the Supreme Judicial Court ordered the automatic dismissal with prejudice of drug cases tested by Ms. Farak at the Amherst Drug Lab effective April 5, 2017. Now that her case has been brought into the public eye again since Netflix released How To Fix a Drug Scandal, many will be wondering what has happened to her. She disclosed to her therapist that all the drugs she was consuming came from her workplace. 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. Moreover, more than 24,000 cases ended up being dismissed due to Faraks misconduct. The drug lab technician was sent to prison for 18 months, but was released in 2015. While its a small fact said in the documentary mini-series, its a mind-bogglingone. Massachusetts chemist accused of tampering with evidence, drug possession, Sonja Farak took heroin, cocaine from evidence inventory, attorney general alleges, Another chemist was accused of tampering, affecting 34,000 drug cases, in October. While attending college, she met her longtime partner Nikki Lee. Matt is short for Matthew, and the mat is a play on words of his name. 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 . Since most drug chemists spend most of their time testing evidence, it doesn't make sense to showcase a chemist sitting at a bench, doing their work, when most of the exciting parts are actually catching the criminals. In How To Fix A Drug Scandal, we learn about Sonja Farak, who was arrested in 2013 on counts of evidence tampering. Farak, a chemist at the Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory in Amherst, was arrested in 2013. Here are 10 things everyone completely missed in Netflix's How to Fix a Drug Scandal. A former state chemist, Sonja Farak, made headlines in 2013 when she was arrested for stealing and using drugs from a laboratory. 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. Netflix Pandemic doctor believes he's stumbled on 20-minute coronavirus cure. Farak was born on January 13, 1978, in Rhode Island to Stanley and Linda Farak. Its up to the Board of Bar Overseers about what discipline, if any, should be imposed on the three former prosecutors. Investigators gave that information to Kaczmarek and the state AG's office,according tohearings before thestate board that disciplines attorneys. "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. The special hearing officer found Kaczmarek "displayed no remorse" and was "not candid" during the disciplinary proceedings. When Farak was arrested,former Attorney General Martha Coakley told the public investigators believed Farak tampered with drugs at the lab for only a few months. A different film might have demonized Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, showing how their unconscionable behavior sent potentially innocent people to jail, destroying countless lives in the process. Where is Sonja Farak now? So she turned to drugs, which were incredibly easy to procure. During her trial, her defense lawyer Elaine Pourinski said that Farak wasnt taking drugs to party, but instead to control her depression. 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. With her response, she only listed a Hatfield, Mass. The Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) is reviewing the actions of three prosecutors in the investigation of the scandal to determine whether any of them deliberately withheld potentially exculpatory evidence. Court records showed that Farak was smocking crack and dropping acid on the same day that she tested the drugs in Penates case. 1. Its no big deal, 14-year-old Farak said to the Panama City News Herald. Its a quick two-shot sequence, but it provides punny humor for those that caught the joke. It is still unknown whether the accusations against Farak will jeopardize other drug cases, and this most recent investigation is ongoing and is being treated separately from Dookhans. Sonja had stolen samples from her colleagues' tests and amended the lab database to cover her tracks. (Featured Image Credit: Mass Live). Now the Board of Bar Overseers special hearing officer concluded that there were numerous lapses, oversights, intentional misconduct and rule violations by Kaczmarek, Verner and Foster. Netflix released a new docu-series called "How to Fix a Drug Scandal." There was something so tragic but also surreal about this story.. In the . She really did, at certain times, tried to stop doing this but couldnt.. In December 2011, Springfield, Massachusetts police arrested Rolando Penate for allegedly selling heroin, and the drugs were sent off to be tested by then-35-year-old drug lab chemist Sonja Farak . Regarding the cases that she had handled, the Massachusetts courts threw out every case in the Amherst lab during her tenure. An investigation was immediately launched. I was provided for in every way, Farak testified. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Discovery Company. DISTURBING TRUE STORY BEHIND NETFLIXS HOW TO FIX A DRUG SCANDAL AND HOW ONE PERSONS ADDICTION AFFECTED THOUSANDS, Sonja Farak's addiction saw her abuse her position, Sonja would take samples from her colleague's desks too, Sonja Farak's actions affected thousands of drug convictions, Sonja Farak (right) followed the crimes of chemist Annie Dookhan (left). I could not imagine being high on liquid methamphetamine and hiding it, day in, day out, Carr told, adding that her preliminary curiosity surrounding Farak kicked off the making of the docuseries. Where is Sonja now? A second Massachusetts state . The staff in the new lab was also doubled, and the number of trainees was also increased. Filmmaker Erin Lee Carrs recent docu-series How to Fix a Drug Scandal twinkles a spotlight on wrongdoing on several levels but its main focus is on a Massachusetts former drug lab technician named Sonja Farak. In the last couple of minutes of the mini-series, there seems to be a reunion at a local Boston restaurant, where many of the key players in the series appear. She had also kept a detailed daily record of her substance abuse for a drug counsellor, which noted that she used. As extensively detailed in How to Fix a Drug Scandal, Farak was arrested on January 19, 2013. Those are things that cause people, including my clients, to make choices that negatively impact themselves and others. Am I somebody who took her personhood? In the first episode, audiences are revealed a very important fact about television - drug chemists arent actually a thing on television. She has kept a low profile but has been spotted in court for civil cases related to her own case, including in 2018. It features the true story of Sonja Farak, a former state drug lab chemist in Massachusetts who was arrested in 2013 for consuming the drugs she was supposed to test and tampering with the evidence to cover up her tracks. If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site. Her interest soon led to a regular drug habit. It wasnt until she started working at a crime lab responsible for testing drugs acquired from arrests that Farak became addicted to drugs. 24 Federal Street, 4th Floor She remained a football fan, and loved the Patriots. Between 2003 and 2011, chemist Annie Dookhan engaged in serious misconduct at a state drug lab that jeopardized the integrity of over 20,000 cases in Eastern Massachusetts. Copyright 2023 by Vizaca. In 2019, she was seen attending a civil court case relating to her, but she's otherwise kept a . In Massachusetts it doesn't even end there. You can check your records electronically by following this link: Please do not include personal or contact information. Her role was to test for the presence of illegal substances, which could be instrumental in thousands of drug related legal cases. Powered by. Fue arrestada el 19 de enero de 2013. In episode 3 of How to Fix a Drug Scandal, theres a shot of a mat with text that says Hi, Im Mat. In the next shot, it shows the educational diplomas of Matt Segal, Legal Director for ACLU of Massachusetts. "The mental health worksheets constituted admissions by the state lab chemist assigned to analyze the samples seized in Plaintiffs case that she was stealing and using lab samples to feed a drug addiction at the time she was testing and certifying the samples in Plaintiffs case, including, in one instance, on the very day that she certified a sample," Robertson's ruling reads. A detailed daily record of her substance abuse for a drug Scandal. heroin. 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