Farak was a former lab chemist at a lab in Amherst, Massachusetts and was convicted of stealing and using drugs from the lab where she worked. Sonja Farak: Defendant Rafael Rodriguez died of drug overdose - MEAWW Sonja Farak is the subject of Netflix's "How To Fix a Drug Scandal. While what she did was wrong, many have been sympathetic to her plight. Drug lab case prosecutors get their day in court over allegations of "If she puts her mind to something, she can do it, Amy told the producers of How to Fix a Drug Scandal.. Westcott has been in recovery from heroin addiction for nearly nine years. Perhaps, this desire for privacy, combined with Lindas age, is why she doesnt have much of a digital footprint. Because of all that, it's no surprise that Farak was sent to prison in Massachusetts. Within a year of working at the new lab, Farak began doing drugs. While attending college, she met her longtime partner Nikki Lee. I think that she was so adept at hiding her addiction for so long, her downfall sort of came as a surprise to her and to everybody.". I felt amazing.. Massachusetts prosecutor tied to Sonja Farak drug lab scandal 'actively Farak worked for the Amherst Drug Lab in Massachusetts for 9 years when she was convicted of stealing and using them. According to a Rolling Stone profile on Farak and the case, the former chemist has not been heard from since her release. According to her teammates, She was the best center in the league last year, and they [felt] stronger with her in there than with some guys.. The series chronicles nine years of misconduct at two Massachusetts drug labs. 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 . Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. While Dookhan had tampered with evidence and indulged in dry-labbing, Farak stole from her workplace. that she spent a lot of time thinking about Farak and trying to humanize her. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! But Westcott said she paid a variety of fees, such as $65 monthly probation costs and $500 to get her drivers license, before the SJC dismissed her three possession cases in 2018. "And I think often when we're looking at these criminal justice stories, and we're looking at 'perpetrators,' we sort of almost see them as avatars, like 'there was this bad chemist and she did X.'" A federal judge has rejected claims from an embattled former state prosecutor that she is protected from liability in the fallout over a Massachusetts drug lab scandal. Her wrongdoings were exposed when unsealed cocaine and a crack pipe were found under her desk. Farak was actually using the drugs, too. The fees eligible for reimbursement include probation fees, victim witness fees, GPS monitoring costs and driver's license reinstatement fees. The cocaine, found in an unsealed, completed drug-testing kit, tested negativemeaning Farak had seemingly replaced the formerly "positive" drugs with falsified substances. The place was closed as soon as Faraks crimes came to light. He said he feels she suffered from both a chemical dependency and a psychological dependence to the drugs. But I remember being terrified, sitting outside the courthouse hysterically crying. Farak received a sentence of 18 months in jail and 5 years of probation. After she was caught, Farak pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the lab and was sentenced to prison time of 18 months. 6,000 drug cases linked to "rogue chemist" at Mass. crime lab to be You know, no special treatment.. Because she did so, Plaintiff served more than five years in a state prison.". Rolling Stone covered both drug lab scandals in 2018 and uncovered that Farak had suffered from depression for many years. In Netflixs docuseries we get to hear from her sister, and mother, who give us an insight into Sonjas life, and how her actions impacted them. Anders Behring Breivik. She started off doing drugs at work regularly she worked while on meth, liquid amphetamine, LSD, coke and crack. That is as much public exposure as shes opened herself up to since her release from jail. Her medical records included notes from Faraks therapist in Amherst, Anna Kogan. I wasnt abused and yet I still turned out a certain way, still had some problems.. No wonder, she expresses an initial surprise upon learning that Sonja got addicted to drugs while working on her job. SJC dismisses thousands of drug cases after Amherst lab scandal I could not imagine being high on liquid methamphetamine and hiding it, day in, day out, Carr told Oxygen.com, adding that her initial curiosity surrounding Farak kicked off the making of the docuseries. The latter investigation was the result of a complaint filed by Nina Morrison, senior litigation counsel for the Innocence Project. A status hearing on Penate's suit, which was filed in 2017, is scheduled for July. And yet, due to their actions, they did injure people and they did inflict a lot of pain, not just on a couple of people, but on thousands. By Arun Rath Matt Baskin. In 2018, all of the criminal convictions more than 10,000 that Farak worked on were dismissed. The filmmaker told Oxygen.com that she spent a lot of time thinking about Farak and trying to humanize her. ( 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. Given the account that Farak was a law-abiding citizen, it is questioned as to how an educated person with a stable job would commit a crime of this magnitude. General drug lab cases information. How to Fix a Drug Scandal: With Shannon O'Neill, Karl Kenzler, Paul Solotaroff, Jared Olanoff. In 2012, former drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested for falsifying evidence recovered from alleged drug busts in the state of Massachusetts. 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. She worked there for a year but soon realized she wouldnt make enough money there in the Boston area to buy a house. The hotline is open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a . Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts. Her arrest led to the dismissal of thousands of drug cases in Massachusetts. In 2008, defendant Ricky Simmons pleaded guilty in the Superior Court to several drug crimes. A judge will hold a final hearing on the settlement in October. 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. Sonja got a job as a chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory building in Jamaica Plain after getting her college degree. 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. 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. Sonja Farak: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com There was something so tragic but also surreal about this story., She suffered from substance misuse disorder and she was in the worst kind of place to try to combat that, defense attorney Luke Ryan told, . Netflix's latest documentary series, How to Fix a Drug Scandal, focuses on the story of Sonja Farak, a former Massachusetts crime lab chemist who was found to be abusing the drugs she was . However, it must be said that Linda has maintained a straight backbone about the entire matter. 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. . 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. 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.. Report shows more than 24k wrongful convictions dismissed in drug lab When Sonja graduated high school in 1996, she didnt just receive various varsity letters for sports. 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal's Kris Foster Might Still Be in Legal Trouble I want to be accepted like one of them, Sonja said during the local news segment, included in the docuseries. Former Massachusetts assistant attorney general Anne Kaczmarek prosecuted Farak in 2013. 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. They are the number one team in their division, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at GBH, Transparency in Coverage Cost-Sharing Disclosures. The staff in the new lab was also doubled, and the number of trainees was also increased. Those receiving notices had their criminal convictions dismissed because evidence in their cases was tainted by the misconduct of former state chemists Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak. 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Netflix's latest .css-7qz8rz{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#f7623b;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #feebe7 50%, #feebe7);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-7qz8rz:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}true crime docuseries, How to Fix a Drug Scandal tells the true story surrounding Farak's misbehavior and its consequences. According to a newspaper article from 1992, she was the first female in Rhode Island to be on a high school football team. Linda was married to Stanley M Farak, who was in the US Navy.
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