She has pledged to dismiss Suffolk County drug convictions an estimated 74,800 for anyone whose drug certification was done at the Hinton Lab between May 2003 and August 2012. She really did, at certain times, tried to stop doing this but couldnt.. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. The average amount for each recipient is estimated at $375. Faraks therapist, Anna Kogan, wrote in her notes that Farak was worried about Nikki finding out about her addiction as well as the possible legal issues if she were ever caught. Thank you! Former Massachusetts crime lab chemist Sonja Farak, left, during her arraignment in 2013. The disgraced chemist was sentenced to less than two years behind bars in 2014, following her guilty pleas for stealing cocaine from the lab. The place was closed as soon as Faraks crimes came to light. She has since been one of 18 defendants facing a lawsuit by Rolando Penate, who claims they. Sonja Farak: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. The special hearing officer found Kaczmarek "displayed no remorse" and was "not candid" during the disciplinary proceedings. The four-episode documentary series centers around the Massachusetts drug lab crisis that came to light a few years ago. 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. A spokesperson for Attorney General Maura Healey said the AG has long been clear that the conduct that occurred during the previous administration was completely unacceptable and her focus has always been making sure the mistakes of the past never happen again., She implemented a clear policy relating to the disclosure of evidence that is covered at mandatory trainings, created an internal ethics committee, and is committed to continually enhancing the offices integrity practices, the spokesperson added. Penate alleged Kaczmarek's actions violated his "Brady rights," which require prosecutors to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to defense counsel. Listen Live: Classic and Contemporary Celtic, Listen Live: Cape, Coast and Islands NPR Station, Greenway Food Truck Festival promises diverse flavors in the heart of Boston, New heads of Mass Democrats and Mass GOP spar on abortion, The drag show during North Brookfield's Pride celebration will go on, The guy who ate a $120,000 banana in an art museum says he was just hungry, Basic Black: Castle of Our Skins celebrates Black artistry through chamber music. Unfortunately, Stanley passed away in 2015. 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. When she's not shopping for a living, she enjoys karaoke and dining out more than she cares to admit. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. She Was Born in 1978 & Raised in Portsmouth, Rhode Island Farak was born on January 13, 1978, in Rhode Island to Stanley and Linda Farak. As she put it in a piece for Commonwealth Magazine, the Farak case involved a rare one-two punch of official misconduct. She joined Jim Braude to discuss. I want to be accepted like one of them, Sonja said during the local news segment, included in the docuseries. October 6, 2020 All Things Considered. that she spent a lot of time thinking about Farak and trying to humanize her. She confided in her therapist that all the drugs she was consuming came from her workplace. But I remember being terrified, sitting outside the courthouse hysterically crying. Though viewers won't hear from Farak directly due to a pending civil case, the series paints a vivid picture of Farak's drug use through dramatization. Less than a year later, former drug lab technician Sonja Farak would also be arrested for tampering with the drugs she was tasked with testing. Don Treeger/The Republican via AP, Pool, File. Background. The disgraced chemist was sentenced to less than two years behind bars in 2014, following her guilty pleas for stealing cocaine from the lab. She is not active on any social media platform and has kept her distance from the press. I mean she could have been my client. In How to Fix a Drug Scandal on Netflix, Ryan is the primary on-camera interviewee. Its no big deal, 14-year-old Farak said to the Panama City News Herald. 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. Tens of thousands of criminal drug cases were dismissed as a result of misconduct by Dookhan and Farak. Farak has stayed sober, according to the docuseries. By Arun Rath Matt Baskin. She has kept a low profile but has been spotted in court for civil cases related to her own case, including in 2018. The new four-part Netflix series tracks chemists Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, whose convictions for misconduct led to over 40,000 drug convictions being dismissed by the courts. Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts. The latter investigation was the result of a complaint filed by Nina Morrison, senior litigation counsel for the Innocence Project. Sonja Farak, tasked with testing confiscated drugs inMassachusetts, was high on the job for years. "They wanted Sonja to be really rendered as human," Carr explains. Dookhan married Surrendranath Dookhan, a software engineer, in 2004. "She isn't 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. It didnt matter whether or not she was the one who did the testing or some other chemist. According to a Rolling Stone profile on Farak and the case, the former chemist has not been heard from since her release. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The actions of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan caused a racket of such a scale that the state had to recompense for it with millions of dollars and had to make a historic move in the dismissal of wrongful convictions. This first-time event, brought to you by GBH in partnership with NPR, PBS and stations across the country, is a celebration of all that #PublicMediaGives people everywhere. She worked there for a year but soon realized she wouldnt make enough money there in the Boston area to buy a house. You can try, Judge dismisses 'qualified immunity' claim in suit against ex-prosecutor in drug lab scandal, Judge declines mass dismissal of cases from tainted drug lab, New Evidence May Implicate Additional Chemists In Statewide Drug Lab Scandal. That is as much public exposure as shes opened herself up to since her release from jail. Furthermore, she said she has been grappling with how the docuseries may have affected Faraks life. Unfortunately, Stanley passed away in 2015. Farak is amongst one of the 18 defendants battling the lawsuit filed by Rolando Penate. There were also fewer technicians, which made it easier for her drug use to go undetected. A final decision is still pending and must be approved by the state Supreme Judicial Court. Regarding the cases that she had handled, the Massachusetts courts threw out every case in the Amherst lab during her tenure. Fake drugs were found in their place. By some accounts, she is 68 years old. Sonja Farak was released on parole in 2016 and has remained out of the spotlight ever since. 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.. Sonja Farak, left, stands during her arraignment at Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, Mass. Linda Farak is currently in her 60s. Lets find out. It appears that Linda has Christianity listed as her religion, and is a Caucasian woman, who's registered as a Democrat. Stream GBH's Award-Winning Content For Parents And Children. The number is 888-999-2881. The move comes months after the American Civil Liberties Union and the state's public defender agency asked the state's highest court to throw out all of the cases tainted by Sonja Farak, who . . She eventually landed a job at the Amherst crime lab of the Massachusetts State Police, after graduating from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 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. Shortly into her role at Amherst, Farak decided to try liquid methamphetamine to ease her personal struggles. If Farak found a substance was a true drug, the person it was confiscated from could be convicted of a substance-related crime. Carr said shes been horrified to read angry reactions towards Farak over Twitter. A majority of the report focused on Kaczmarek, who was primarily in charge of the day-to-day handling of the Farak prosecution. Now, you might be curious about where Sonjas mother, Linda, is at the moment. Her notes record on-the-job drug use ranging from small nips of the lab's baseline. She graduated with high distinction. Infamous drug lab chemist Sonja Farak faced an agonising new court case after being released from jail for smoking crack on the job. 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. The latest true crime offering from Netflix is the documentary series How to Fix a Drug Scandal. It dives into the story of Sonja Farak, a chemist who worked for a Massachusetts state drug lab and got arrested for taking the drugs she was testing as well as tampering with evidence. Oxygen.com was not able to reach Farak for comment. their crimes under the rug without addressing how their actions affected the defendants who were convicted based on their drug testing. Powered by. First Name Sonja. Her supply came from work itself; she would take drugs and use them and then replace the evidence bags with fake drugs. She played as the starting guard for Portsmouth High Schools freshman team. The new numbers appear in a report issued by a court-designated "Special Master." 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. The process of reimbursing people for the biggest drug lab scandals in the nations history is moving forward. In 2012, former drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested for falsifying evidence recovered from alleged drug busts in the state of Massachusetts. Those are things that cause people, including my clients, to make choices that negatively impact themselves and others. MGB medical residents want to change long hours, low pay and poor benefits. Sonja Farak, who worked as a chemist at the Amherst drug lab since 2004, was arrested in January 2013 after one of her co-workers noticed samples were missing from evidence. In conclusion, Linda seems to be where she always was. They are the number one team in their division, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at GBH, Transparency in Coverage Cost-Sharing Disclosures. The four-part documentary series, released this month, focuses on the 2013 arrest - and ensuing court case - of Sonja Farak, a then-35-year-old crime lab chemist accused of tampering with . Rolling Stone covered both drug lab scandals in 2018 and uncovered that Farak had suffered from depression for many years. Though lawyers from the attorney general's office attempted to suppress evidence demonstrating Sonja's drug use actually went as far back as nine years, a group of defense attorneys committed to helping people who had been convicted based on Farak's testing results were eventually able to get their hands on evidence that would ultimately help dismiss more than 35,000 convictions. Farak struggled with mental health throughout her life, the documentary series explains. Kaczmarek argued the findings are subject to appeal. Sonja Farak is at the center of Netflix's new true crime docuseries, How To Fix a Drug Scandal. She grew up in Portsmouth with her sister Amy.. Sonja Farak is the subject of Netflix's "How To Fix a Drug Scandal. 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. April 1, 2020. Audiences also hear from Farak's mother and sister who have never spoken to the press before. Criminal. This immediately provoked questions about the thousands of cases in which her findings had contributed to the imprisonment of an individual. Actress Shannon O'Neill portrays Farak in How to a Fix a Drug Scandal. Robertson rejected Kaczmarek's claims she should not be held responsible for the turning over of exculpatory evidence because she was not part of the "prosecution team" in Penate's case. I think shes a good person, she said. Farak pleaded guilty in 2014 of stealing drugs and tampering with evidence, setting off a second. YouTube While Farak claimed that she did in fact test all the drug evidence thrown her way, unlike Dookhan, she did so under highly questionable circumstances. Netflix released a new docu-series called "How to Fix a Drug Scandal." 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 . Apart from the late Stanley Farak, it appears that Amy and Sonja make up the rest of Lindas family. The docuseries did note that Farak is still a fan of the Patriots. The settlement is the result of a class action lawsuit seeking to reimburse those who had their cases dismissed. Linda was born on 19th July 1951. She looked into the western area of the state because it was less expensive and less hectic. With her response, she only listed a Hatfield, Mass. "If she puts her mind to something, she can do it, Amy told the producers of How to Fix a Drug Scandal.. Carr chose to have an actress, Shannon O'Neill, recreate Farak's testimony in front of the grand jury with the help of the unsealed court transcripts. However, we have been able to figure out that Linda works at the Protective Service Occupations. After weeks of hearings, a "special hearing officer" selected by the board recommended potential sanctions against them all. The drug lab technician was sent to prison for 18 months, but was released in 2015. I find that everyone needs to be given a second chance.". Residents are advised to check for a notice in the mail. They wrote that she served 13 months and was paroled sometime in 2015. Who is Sonja Farak, the former state drug lab chemist featured in the show? The newest true crime series from Netflix, How to Fix a Drug Scandal, was released on April 1, 2020. She shone academically as well. She's no longer in prison, as Farak has served her sentence. The scandal led to . In 2018, all of the criminal convictions more than 10,000 that Farak worked on were dismissed. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. After she was caught, Farak pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the lab and was sentenced to prison time of 18 months. The difference? . 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. Despite being a star child of the family, Sonja suffered from the mental illnesses that haunted her even in adulthood. While Carr doesn't know a lot about Farak's personal life ("She's a very, very private person," she notes), the director does believe she is a "clear cut example" of the power of second chances. Obviously, after a blunder of such scale, no one would want their samples checked from the same lab. A drug chemist in. How to Fix a Drug Scandal premiered on Netflix April 1, and it has told the compelling stories of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan. Its unclear if she still owns the property and if she lives there now. However, from the docuseries, it is clear that she remains in touch with her daughters. Though the four-part documentary series interviews some of Farak's family members, she does not appear in it herself. Because she did so, Plaintiff served more than five years in a state prison.". Published Jul 1, 2020. 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. Am I somebody who took her personhood? Personal life. Time to get involved and help public media make an impact. Farak admitted to being on a list of drugs while working between 2004 and her 2013 arrest. She was caught when it was discovered she was high on LSD while testing samples from. Former Assistant Attorney Generals Anne Kaczmarek and Kris Foster withheld evidence regarding Sonja Farak's drug abuse and committed fraud in order to minimise the fallout - but unfortunately,. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. Farak worked at the Amherst Lab since the summer of 2004 and she started taking the labs drugs soon after. When Sonja graduated high school in 1996, she didnt just receive various varsity letters for sports. In fact, she was the first girl in the state of Rhode Island to play high school football in a public school system. How to Fix A Drug Scandal takes a one-woman issue in a crumbling police drug lab and follows the way it blew up an entire legal system. T he day Sonja Farak's world unraveled - the day a crack pipe and sliced evidence bags of cocaine were found at her workstation - started like many others: she attended court. 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. For her wrongdoing, Farak served 18 months in prison and was released in 2015. Former chemist Annie Dookhan was convicted in 2013 on charges of improperly testing drug evidence at a drug lab in Boston. Farak admitted in testimony that she began using drugs almost as soon as she started working at the Massachusetts State Crime Lab in Amherst. Her reporting focuses on mental health, criminal justice and education. Since the takeover, the budget for all forensic labs across the state has been increased, by around twenty-five per cent. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Farak also had an apparent obsession for her therapists husband, as she was reported to have a folder that shed put together about him, documenting her obsession. The hotline is open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a . 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Sonja Farak, a chemist with a longterm mental health struggle, is the catalyst of the story, but it doesn't end with her. She said it gave me the desired effects. 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, . and landed a job at the Amherst state drug lab, Farak still felt "alien and unseen, a ghost floating through her own life," per Rolling Stone. Her mother and sister seem to show no empathy for anyone involved in the cases of Sonja Farak, and only seem to be concerned with how the . She purchased a home there in 2006. You can try, Suspensions and a reprimand proposed for prosecutors admonished in drug lab scandal. Farak was actually using the drugs, too. El Chino ntrax. 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. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. People Also Viewed . He recommended she lose her law license for two years; the Office of Bar Counsel later argued Kaczmarek should be disbarred. 3 Farak Defendants. So she turned to drugs, which . Anders Behring Breivik. Cohen and Felson's (Long, 2021) Farak was born in San Diego, California and within a year her family moved to Newport, Rhode Island after her Navy father was transferred to the east coast. "Not only did I already put my life on hold for the years that I was using, but now I was ready to be a functional member of society and I was blocked from doing that because of these charges," Westcott said. Thousands of convictions in thousands cases tainted by former state chemist Sonja Farak were ordered for dismissal today, marking a victory for justice after litigation from the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) who is the plaintiff and institutional petitioner on behalf of all parties impacted, and the law firm Fick & Marx LLP. Farak was born in San Diego, California and within a year her family moved to Newport, Rhode Island after her Navy father was transferred to the east coast. Massachusetts officials are notifying more than 30,000 people who will share a $14 million dollar settlement for the impact of the states drug lab scandals a decade ago. In high school, Farak became the first girl to play high school football in the state of Rhode Island and made local headlines. After serving for 13 months, she was released on parole in 2015. The scandal led to the dismissal of thousands of drug convictions. Follow us so you don't miss a thing! They were all rendered unacceptable. Instead, the documentary . Farak began her drug use by experimenting with liquid methamphetamine, but her addiction quickly grew and she began using other drugs including cocaine, and crack, which she smoked in her drug lab's bathroom, per Rolling Stone. The project has brought up questions Carr is still grappling with. Chemists Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan tampered with evidence and even used narcotics. The district attorneys in Norfolk, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Hampden and Northwest counties have dismissed charges in about 6,000 cases linked to Farak. "No reasonablejury could conclude that this evidence is not favorable.". Is Netflix's 'The Nurse' Based On A True Story? At the time of her arrest, she had resided in 37 Laurel Park in Northampton. A new documentary by Netflix 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal' looks at the . 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 . He said he feels she suffered from both a chemical dependency and a psychological dependence to the drugs. I can guess that it has been very, very painful for her, she said. After her arrest, she received support from her parents, who showed up to her court appearances, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported. Most Popular #259201 First Name Sonja #23 Criminal Born in Massachusetts #11 45 Year Old Criminal #6 Sonja Farak Is A Member Of . While Dookhan had tampered with evidence and indulged in dry-labbing, Farak stole from her workplace. Sonja Farak was born in San Diego, California and within a year her family shifted to Newport, Rhode Island after her Navy father was transferred to the east coast. A lead plaintiff in the class action suit, Nicole Westcott, 34, of Belchertown, said she doesn't know exactly how much money she stands to receive if a judge signs off on the settlement later this fall. 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. According to a newspaper article from 1992, she was the first female in Rhode Island to be on a high school football team. She started bringing drugs home, and doing them first thing in the morning. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Towards the end of the docuseries, we see her coming to terms with Sonjas indiscretions. At one point, Westcott said she faced incarceration because of unpaid court costs. Its up to the Board of Bar Overseers about what discipline, if any, should be imposed on the three former prosecutors. . Thats when she found a home working at a lab in the Morrill Science Building on the UMass Amherst campus. Faraks mishandling of evidence halted in 2013 when she was approached by a state police trooper after some of her drug samples were discovered missing. Farak's findings, and occasional testimony at court about her testing, was used as evidence to convict the person who had been arrested.
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