General drug lab cases information. 2023 Cable News Network. In high school, she nearly died by suicide, and in college Farak was hospitalized. She is not active on any social media platform and has kept her distance from the press. She is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court. In the first episode, audiences are revealed a very important fact about television - drug chemists arent actually a thing on television. Rick is a Massachusetts native and graduated from Boston University. Get the latest headlines, releases and insider-gossip direct to your inbox with our Binge-worthy newsletter. 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. Farak wasn't . It gave me energy. The special hearing officer found Kaczmarek "displayed no remorse" and was "not candid" during the disciplinary proceedings. The drug lab technician was sent to prison for 18 months, but was released in 2015. Sonja Farak is at the center of Netflix's new true crime docuseries, How To Fix a Drug Scandal. I was totally controlled by my addiction," she revealed in the documentary. You can check your records electronically by following this link: Please do not include personal or contact information. In 2019, she was seen leaving the Springfield Federal Court but declined to comment on the status of the case. The scandal led to the dismissal of thousands of drug convictions. Sonja Farak was a chemist for a state crime lab in Massachusetts. Between August 2004 and January 2013, chemistSonja Farakengaged in serious misconduct at the state drug lab in Amherst that jeopardized the integrity of thousands of cases, mostly in Western Massachusetts. This arrest comes just three months after the arrest of Annie Dookhan, a former Massachusetts chemist at the William A. Hinton State Laboratory in Jamaica Plain, who is charged with obstruction of justice, mishandling of drug evidence and lying about holding a masters degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts. Sonja Farak, 35, who worked at the Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory in Amherst, was arrested at her Northampton home Saturday night by Massachusetts State Police and is facing two counts of tampering with evidence, one count of possession of a Class A substance, and one count of possession of a Class B Substance, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley. The pair's actions saw around 44,000 drug convictions overturned and resulted in prison sentences for the pair. Director Alex Gibney of Jigsaw Productions has been called "one of the most important documentarians of our time" by Esquire, and even The New York Times gave Gibney their praise. Rick Sobey is a multimedia, general assignment reporter -- covering breaking news, politics and more across the region. 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The hammer came down, so to speak, when it was discovered Farak had been high when testing drug samples from Renaldo Penates case. 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. This documentary mini-series follows the stories of these two drug lab chemists, one in Boston and one in Amherst, and how their mistakes led to the wrongful convictions of over 30,000 people. As revealed in the docuseries, she confirmed that her childhood was normal and middle class. Its up to the Board of Bar Overseers about what discipline, if any, should be imposed on the three former prosecutors. Copies of the notice letter, in English, Spanish, and other languages, are posted below. A judge's ruling that tossed out a defendant's conviction because of a drug lab scandal has now jeopardized nearly 10,000 convictions tied to disgraced former state chemist Sonja Farak and the . In addition, the two antagonists of the story were two women - prosecutors who made it impossible for the convicts to be rightfully released from prison. (Featured Image Credit: Mass Live). Carr revealed: "She isn't on drugs anymore, and I think that that is incredible. Something went wrong, please try again later. A final decision is still pending and must be approved by the state Supreme Judicial Court. The disclosure of potentially exculpatory evidence was particularly important, the report reads. Her first doc was Thought Crimes: The Case . Throughout the show, audiences see the gritty side of the law and the uglier side of the war on drugs. Sonja Farak was a chemist at a state drug lab in Amherst, Massachusetts, from 2005 to 2013. They were all rendered unacceptable. Over 40,000 drug convictions were excluded due to Annie Dookhan and Sonja Faraks criminal misconduct (both were sentenced for their crimes). 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. While what she did was immoral, many have been sympathetic to her plight. 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. 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 also oversaw the prosecution for the attorney general's office in that case. 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Heres what you need to know about Sonja Farak: Farak was born on January 13, 1978, in Rhode Island to Stanley and Linda Farak. The newest true-crime docu-series on Netflix that requires to be on your to-watch list is How to Fix a Drug Scandal, a shocking glance into how two drug lab chemists deliberately changed the proof over the course of many years and affected tens of thousands of court cases. She grew up in Portsmouth with her sister Amy . She was discharged in 2015 and has kept a low profile since. Netflix's How To Fix a Drug Scandal tells the story of crime drug lab chemists Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan and how their misconduct affected thousands. Furthermore, she said she has been grasping with how the docuseries may have affected Faraks life. Well, before the credits rolled, the documentary revealed Sonja Farak is reportedly still sober. According to a Rolling Stone profile on Farak and the case, the former chemist has not been heard from since her release. The Massachusetts Attorney Generals Office deliberately hid information about Faraks misconduct and enabled defendants to be sent to prison even though the proof presented in court was changed with. I want to be accepted like one of them, Sonja said during the local news segment, included in the docuseries. The staff in the new lab was also doubled, and the number of trainees was also increased. (The Massachusetts 2017 group exoneration involving chemist Annie Dookhan took place at the main lab.) The state and attorneys for some of the defendants agreed to a $14 million settlement to reimburse 31,000 defendants for post conviction-related costs, such as probation and parole fees, drug analysis and GPS monitoring. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Farak graduated with awards and distinctions. Did you encounter any technical issues? Thank you for your website feedback! Lets find out. While she reached out to her family to let them know that the docuseries was coming out, she hasnt spoken to Farak and doesnt know much about her current life. Sonja received a job as a chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory building in Jamaica Plain after getting her college degree. appreciated. Her role was to test for the presence of illegal substances, which could be instrumental in thousands of . Fue arrestada el 19 de enero de 2013. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. If you can't get enough of true crime documentaries, Netflix is your best friend. It shows the true story of Sonja Farak, a former Massachusetts state drug laboratory chemist who was arrested in 2013 for using the drugs she was supposed to be researching and tampering with the evidence to cover her tracks up. If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site. . Sonja Farak during her arraignment at Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown in 2013. How does Jon Taffer Feb 1, 2023. Dookhan and Farak Case Hotline: 888-999-2881. After graduating from Portsmouth High School, Farak attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she got a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry in 2000. She married Lee after starting her job, but their marriage was rocky. She was ar-rested for tampering with evidence while abusing narcotics at work. This not only led to people getting a reprieve from prison but also filing their own lawsuits against the injustice they had to suffer. Sonja Farak took heroin, cocaine from evidence inventory, attorney general alleges. Matt is short for Matthew, and the mat is a play on words of his name. Massachusetts could get another snowstorm Friday: What areas were the jackpot zones in this past storm? We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. In a news conference Sunday regarding Faraks arrest, Coakley noted that unlike our allegations against Annie Dookhan, this did not involve dry labbing or falsification of tests. In 2017, Rolando Penate filed a $5.7 million lawsuit against 18 defendants, including Farak. An official website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, This page, Drug lab cases information, is. Farak testified that she started off trying meth in the lab because she was curious. She confessed that back in college shed research drugs and noted that meth sounded like one she was especially interested in trying. An investigation was immediately launched. Its almost as if somebody would take the worst part of my life and show it to millions of people., The project has brought up issues Carr is still dealing with. Prior to working at the Amherst Drug Lab, Farak had been a chemist at the Hinton Drug Lab from 2003 to 2004. . Read More: Where is Sonja Farak Sister Now? 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