As How to Fix a Drug Scandal explores, Farak had long struggled with her mental . Since the takeover, the budget for all forensic labs across the state has been increased, by around twenty-five per cent. 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. Sonja Farak, one of the drug chemists putin the spotlight in the documentary, first made headlines when she was the first girl in Rhode Island to play high school football in a public school system! After graduating from Portsmouth High School, Farak attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she got a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry in 2000. Regarding the cases that she had handled, the Massachusetts courts threw out every case in the Amherst lab during her tenure. 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. [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. It gave me energy. The number is 888-999-2881. Chemists Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan tampered with evidence and even used narcotics. Northampton, MA 01060 Given the account that Farak was a law-abiding citizen, it is questioned as to how an 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. Kaczmarek, along with former assistant attorneys general Kris Foster and John Verner, all face possible sanctions. Sonja Farak worked as a chemist for the state of Massachusetts, specializing in identifying illegal substances. Farak, a chemist, was later convicted of stealing drugs from the state lab in Amherst. According to a Rolling Stone piece on Farak, she struggled with depression from an early age, one that hasnt responded to medication. They wrote that Farak attempted suicide in high school and was also hospitalized while in college. It's rare for the key players of a story to involve mostly women, butthey werein this case. 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. Her medical records included notes from Faraks therapist in Amherst, Anna Kogan. No shot is filmed on accident. A status hearing on Penate's suit, which was filed in 2017, is scheduled for July. In the . After high school, Sonja went on to major in biochemistry at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in western Massachusetts. Tens of thousands of criminal drug cases were dismissed as a result of misconduct by Dookhan and Farak. After searching her work station, they found a vial of oxycodone and 11.7 grams of cocaine, along with kits to use crack. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. She had also kept a detailed daily record of her substance abuse for a drug counsellor, which noted that she used. A former state chemist, Sonja Farak, made headlines in 2013 when she was arrested for stealing and using drugs from a laboratory. Deborah Becker Twitter Host/ReporterDeborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. Faraks wife had her own mental health problems, and according to Rolling Stone, Farak would have conflict with her wife every night at home. Sonja Farak was hired by DPH in July 2003 as a drug lab chemist. Kaczmarek has repeatedly testified she did not act intentionally and that she thought the worksheets had been turned over to the district attorneys who prosecuted the cases involved. Please note that if your case has been identified for dismissal, it could take approximately 2-3 months for the relevant court records to be updated. In order to cover her tracks, per Rolling Stone and the Netflix doc, Farak would add ersatz powder to some of the drug samples she used. 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. Documentary series How To Fix a Drug Scandal follows crime drug lab chemists Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan and how each of their own unique levels of misconduct impacted thousands of cases and resulted in chaos for the legal system. Over 40,000 drug convictions were excluded due to Annie Dookhan and Sonja Faraks criminal misconduct (both were sentenced for their crimes). We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. According to a newspaper article from 1992, she was the first female in Rhode Island to be on a high school football team. 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. Please note that if your case has been identified for dismissal, it could take approximately 2-3 months for the relevant court records to be updated. 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. Kaczmarek argued the findings are subject to appeal. The Bechdel Test is a test that measures the representation of women in fiction. According to a Rolling Stone profile on Farak and the case, the former chemist has not been heard from since her release. 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. Investigators gave that information to Kaczmarek and the state AG's office,according tohearings before thestate board that disciplines attorneys. Ive been struggling with that, Carr said Its very uncomfortable and I dont know what its been like for her.. A former state chemist, Sonja Farak, made headlines in 2013 when she was arrested for stealing and using drugs from a laboratory. After serving just a year of her 18 month sentence, Farak was released from prison in 2015. In the civil suit, she filed her own answer to the lawsuit and hired the services of attorney Susan Sachs. Her first doc was Thought Crimes: The Case . Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Spanish, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Khmer, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Russian, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Vietnamese, To find out if your case was affected by either Ms. Dookhan or Ms. Farak, you can call a toll-free hotline operated by defense lawyers with the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the public defender agency in Massachusetts. Her ar-rest led to the dismissal of thousands of drug cases in Massachusetts. Why did she do that and where has it left her? In high school, she nearly died by suicide, and in college Farak was hospitalized. Netflix Pandemic doctor believes he's stumbled on 20-minute coronavirus cure. You can check your records electronically by following this link: Please do not include personal or contact information. Since her release, she has kept a low profile and managed to stay out of the public eye. On a Friday afternoon in January 2013, a call came in to Coakley's office: "We have another Annie Dookhan out west." Earlier that day, a chemist at the Amherst drug lab had tracked . Sonja Farak pleaded guilty to stealing samples of drugs from an Amherst drug lab. Farak trabaj en el laboratorio Amherst desde el verano de 2004 y poco despus comenz a tomar las drogas del laboratorio. Heres what you need to know about Sonja Farak: Farak was born on January 13, 1978, in Rhode Island to Stanley and Linda Farak. They wrote that she served 13 months and was paroled sometime in 2015. The filmmaker told that she spent a lot of time thinking about Farak and trying to humanize her. Did you encounter any technical issues? In 2019, she was seen attending a civil court case relating to her, but she's otherwise kept a . Sonja Farak in the dock after her arrest for stealing drugs Credit: AP:Associated Press. She purchased a home there in 2006. 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. (Featured Image Credit: Mass Live). 7:29 PM EST, Sun January 20, 2013. She has since been one of 18 defendants facing a lawsuit by Rolando Penate, who claims they committed "intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to the conspiracy to violate [Penates] civil rights.. An ex-lab chemist Sonja Farak's negligence and misdeeds shocked US when she was arrested in 2013 for stealing and using drugs from the lab where she worked. A .mass.gov website belongs to an official government organization in Massachusetts. Netflix's documentary titled 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal' looks into the . Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. 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. You can check your records electronically by following this link:https://icori.chs.state.ma.us. In 2018, all of the criminal convictions more than 10,000 that Farak worked on were dismissed. Instead, all such relief must now be sought through the pending class action lawsuit, Stacey Foster v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al, provided that the claimant meetsthe criteria to qualify as a member of the class. Many people watching the show are wondering: where is Sonja Farak now? 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.. 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 . When she got married, it turned out that her wife, too, suffered from her own demons, and their collective anguish made Sonja desperate for a reprieve from this life. [6] How to Fix a Drug Scandal depicts the role of former Attorney General of Massachusetts Martha Coakley, who was accused of political cover up. 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. How to Fix a Drug Scandal is available now on Netflix. Where Is Sonja Farak Now? It didnt matter whether or not she was the one who did the testing or some other chemist. 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. Top-requested sites to log in to services provided by the state. As a teenager, she had attempted suicide. Who Is Sonja Farak And What Is Her Drug Scandal. 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. The lawsuit names Kaczmarek, Farak and three members of the state police. 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. So she turned to drugs, which were incredibly easy to procure. Updated In Massachusetts it doesn't even end there. For How to Fix a Drug Scandal, the story is about two women who start the scandals. Sonja Farak and two other chemists analyzed drug samples at the lab from late 2004 until its closure on January 18, 2013. 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. Sonja Farak's stature. She said it gave me the desired effects. 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. As Solotaroff recounts in detail, Massachusetts attorney Luke Ryan represented two people who were accused of drug charges that Farak had analyzed . In December 2011, after police in Springfield, Mass., had arrested Renaldo Penate for allegedly selling heroin, the drugs from that case were tested at a state drug lab by technician Sonja Farak. So, in a way, it is not from her that the queue of the blame should begin; it should be from the lab and the authorities themselves. For information on how to obtain relief through the class action lawsuit, please contact the attorneys representing the class, as provided below: LukeRyan On January 19, 2013, AGO investigators obtained a warrant to search Farak's car, searched the car, and seized hundreds of pages of paper, including the Diary Card and other mental health worksheets. Where is Sonja now? Its unclear if Farak is still with Lee, as they have both remained out of the public eye since the case. Jon Taffer Net Worth: Who is Jon Taffer? The charges against Penate were dismissed after Farak's conviction. 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. Sincevery few people willingly dabble in drugs, its more of a question to ask why is this person using drugs to begin with? This is even further legitimized when it's revealed Sonja Farak was dealing with depression since she was 16 years old. He was most recently a reporter at The Lowell Sun. Prev Next - Advertisement - Latest Stories . 2023 Cable News Network. Release year: 2020. Would love your thoughts, please comment. appreciated. Yes, it is so exciting to put a series out and I think the series is well-reported and researched but its something that happened in the midst of her addiction, and she was incredibly embarrassed about it. 2020 American documentary television mini-series, "How to Fix a Drug Scandal: behind a staggering Netflix crime docuseries", "Inspector General: Dookhan 'Sole Bad Actor' In State Drug Lab Scandal", "24,000 charges tossed because they were tainted by former Amherst lab chemist's misconduct", "Netflix's 'How To Fix A Drug Scandal' Elevates Process Over Personality", "How to Fix a Drug Scandal is the staggering true story of justice gone very wrong", Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer, Break it All: The History of Rock in Latin America, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan, Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer, Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=How_to_Fix_a_Drug_Scandal&oldid=1123661369, 2020s American documentary television series, English-language Netflix original programming, Netflix original documentary television series, Documentary television series about crime in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 November 2022, at 00:02.
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