She had been accused of intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to the conspiracy to violate [Penates] civil rights.. Faraks sister Amy Farak said her sister outshined at sports. El 6 de enero de 2014, Farak se declar culpable de los cargos en su contra. 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. Two drug lab chemists' shocking crimes cripple a state's judicial system and blur the lines of justice for lawyers, officials and thousands of inmates. On further review, the Court ordered the automatic dismissal with prejudice of all cases tested at the Amherst Drug Lab between January 2009 and January 2013, effective December 13, 2018. 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 was released on parole in 2016 and has remained out of the spotlight ever since. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Specifically speaking, she played on the line on offense and defense. In "How to Fix a Drug Scandal," a new four-part Netflix docuseries, documentary filmmaker Erin Lee Carr presents the stories of Massachusetts drug lab chemists Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak, and . 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. "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.". Defense attorney Luke Ryan's clients Rolando Penate and Rafael Rodriguez were convicted based upon Sonja Farak's drug lab testing. After eight years at the lab, Sonja was finally caught out and arrested for her actions. The medical records stated that she did not have an existing drug problem that was amplified by her access to more substances. The Netflix show highlights not only the arrest and trial of Farak, but also the missteps taken by the state to ignore the extent of the cases affected by Faraks actions. While Dookhan had tampered with evidence and indulged in dry-labbing, Farak stole from her workplace. 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. The latest true crime series from Netflix follows one of the most notorious scandals to ever hit law enforcement in the US. 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. Her role was to test for the presence of illegal substances, which could be instrumental in thousands of drug related legal cases. The surveillance of the chemists as well as the standards and the confiscated drugs has also been increased considerably. Money Heist season 5 on Netflix: Will there be a La Casa de Papel part 5? 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. They wrote that she served 13 . [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. Sonja Farak is the former state drug lab chemist featured in Netflix's "How to Fix a Scandal." Obviously, after a blunder of such scale, no one would want their samples checked from the same lab. Please let us know how we can improve this page. She disclosed to her therapist that all the drugs she was consuming came from her workplace. Jon Taffer Net Worth: Who is Jon Taffer? She Was Born in 1978 & Raised in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Farak graduated with high distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and was excited about science, according to Rolling Stone. Copyright 2023 by Vizaca. All Rights Reserved. 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. He said he feels she suffered from both a chemical dependency and a psychological dependence to the drugs. "As the gatekeeper to this evidence, she failed to turn over documents, and she adamantly opposed the requests for access. 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. As How to Fix a Drug Scandal explores, Farak had long struggled with her mental . As extensively detailed in How to Fix a Drug Scandal, Farak was arrested on January 19, 2013. She was ar-rested for tampering with evidence while abusing narcotics at work. According to Matt Segal, Legal Director of ACLU of Massachusetts, the justice system is set up to where it is "so easy to hold onto a wrongful conviction and so hard to overcome it.". You skipped the table of contents section. (Featured Image Credit: Mass Live). A second Massachusetts state . Farak trabaj en el laboratorio Amherst desde el verano de 2004 y poco despus comenz a tomar las drogas del laboratorio. She was convicted to 18 months behind bars, followed by five years of probation and 500 hours of community services, the same year. Despite being a star child of the family, Sonja suffered from the mental illnesses that haunted her even in adulthood. Sonja Farak, of Northampton, a former chemist at the state crime lab in Amherst, appears in Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton in April 2013 for her arraignment on multiple counts of evidence . 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. In 2014, former Amherst drug lab chemist Sonja Farak was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison after it was discovered that she stole and used drugs that she was entrusted to test. 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. Hanchett found a leftover beaker with a white residue on it. 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. At the time of her arrest, she had resided in 37 Laurel Park in Northampton. While this series isn't fiction, it would've passed this infamous test if it was. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. Not only was she under the impact of drugs while at work for about nine years, but she was also under the impact when she took the stand in 2013. 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.. Her medical records included notes from Faraks therapist in Amherst, Anna Kogan. For information on how to obtain relief through the class action lawsuit, please contact the attorneys representing the class, as provided below: LukeRyan Netflix released a new docu-series called "How to Fix a Drug Scandal." She is a decent height with good physical . You can check your records electronically by following this link:https://icori.chs.state.ma.us. Those are things that cause people, including my clients, to make choices that negatively impact themselves and others. 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. 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. In 2013, Massachusetts State Police arrested 35-year-old crime drug lab chemist Sonja Farak for tampering with evidence: and that was only the beginning. The lab resided on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, operating as a satellite facility of the main state Department of Public Health lab in Boston. She has kept a low profile but has been spotted in court for civil cases related to her own case, including in 2018. I think I make a strong case and advocate that humans are fallible and she needs to be given a second chance, but thats an unpopular opinion, and I cant control how the public reacts to it.. 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. I can guess that it has been very, very painful for her, she said. You can check your records electronically by following this link: Please do not include personal or contact information. Farak remained in jail Sunday, the attorney generals office said. How to Fix a Drug Scandal premiered on Netflix April 1, and it has told the compelling stories of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan. Massachusetts could get another snowstorm Friday: What areas were the jackpot zones in this past storm? 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. Farak also used her position in the lab to manufacture her own drugs for personal use. Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. In high school, she nearly died by suicide, and in college Farak was hospitalized. The hotline is open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 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 one, drug lab technician Sonja Farak was caught tampering with evidence so she could steal hard drugs for personal use. 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. She grew up in Portsmouth with her sister Amy. Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts. While I certainly think her longstanding refusal to acknowledge what she was doing comprised the rights of lots of people, I have sympathy for a human being who is struggling with a very difficult addiction, he said. Authorities also determined that Farak allegedly possessed what appeared to be Class A and B substances, the release said. Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan & Hoose Her reporting focuses on mental health, criminal justice and education. 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.. How to Fix a Drug Scandal is an American true crime documentary miniseries that was released on Netflix on April 1, 2020. Well, before the credits rolled, the documentary revealed Sonja Farak is reportedly still sober. 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. In the documentary, an actress plays Sonja Farak for B-roll scenes, and that actress is Shannon ONeill. Powered by. After weeks of hearings, a "special hearing officer" selected by the board recommended potential sanctions against them all. The depths of her thefts and addiction are explored over the course of the series. Sonja Farak in How to Fix a Drug Scandal. Carr revealed: "She isn't on drugs anymore, and I think that that is incredible. 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.. Yet, the cases of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhanbecame "one of the largest mass dismissals of criminal convictions in United States history." 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. Sonja Farak. 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 2019, Sonja was seen leaving Springfield Federal Court but declined to speak to press. She was ultimately sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2014. Damning evidence reveals drug lab chemist Sonja Farak's addictions. The lax security and regulations of the place and the negligent supervision of the employees and the stock of standards are the reasons why Farak was encouraged to do what she did. One of the reasons for the decrepit state and standard of the Amherst lab was the lack of funds. Regarding the cases that she had handled, the Massachusetts courts threw out every case in the Amherst lab during her tenure. (The Massachusetts 2017 group exoneration involving chemist Annie Dookhan took place at the main lab.) In 2019, she was seen leaving the Springfield Federal Court but declined to comment on the status of the case. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Obsessed with Netflix? 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