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. One of the reasons for the decrepit state and standard of the Amherst lab was the lack of funds. Where is Sonja Farak now? Please limit your input to 500 characters. The feedback will only be used for improving the website. The docuseries did note that Farak is still a fan of the Patriots. Sonja Farak (left) leaving the courthouse with her lawyer. Over 40,000 drug convictions were excluded due to Annie Dookhan and Sonja Faraks criminal misconduct (both were sentenced for their crimes). 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 . Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr's newest docuseries "How to Fix a Drug Scandal" shines a spotlight on misconduct on several levels but its primary focus is on a Massachusetts former drug lab technician named Sonja Farak. I can guess that it has been very, very painful for her, she said. Episode 2. 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. history. They wrote that she served 13 months and was paroled sometime in 2015. Northampton, MA 01060 Sonja Farak Photo: Netflix. When Ryan found out Farak was high when she conducted those tests, he knew it was time to fight. The Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) is reviewing the actions of three prosecutors in the investigation of the scandal to determine whether any of them deliberately withheld potentially exculpatory evidence. It didnt matter whether or not she was the one who did the testing or some other chemist. Discovery Company. 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. WilliamW. Fick He recommended she lose her law license for two years; the Office of Bar Counsel later argued Kaczmarek should be disbarred. She received an 18-month jail sentence. Magistrate Judge Robertson denied a request in Penate's lawsuit that Kaczmarek be prohibited from contesting the special hearing officer's findings. It gave me energy. According to IMDb, shes appeared in HBOs High Maintenance and will star as Angie in Make America Bake Again, which is currently in production. Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal tells the story of two women whose actions brought to light the negligence of the system that is supposed to deliver justice to everyone. Who Is Sonja Farak And What Is Her Drug Scandal. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site. The Bechdel Test is a test that measures the representation of women in fiction. With her response, she only listed a Hatfield, Mass. But it turns out that Farak was really high while running some of those tests. 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 . (The Massachusetts 2017 group exoneration involving chemist Annie Dookhan took place at the main lab.) Carr revealed: "She isn't on drugs anymore, and I think that that is incredible. 7:29 PM EST, Sun January 20, 2013. Shortly into her role at Amherst, Farak decided to try liquid methamphetamine to ease her personal struggles. She later pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the lab and was sentenced in 2014 to serve 18 months . She started doing drugs almost as soon as she took the job at Amherst, but it was after years of negligence on her superiors part that her actions finally came to light. Sonja had been smoking crack on her lunch break and was asked to take a drug test, which tested positive. 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. Kaczmarek also oversaw the prosecution for the attorney general's office in that case. The responsibility of the mess that she created should also rest upon the shoulders of her workplace that allowed her the opportunity to indulge so freely in drugs in the first place. She suffered from substance misuse disorder and she was in the worst kind of place to try to combat that, defense attorney Luke Ryan, He went to bat for clients who were influenced by both Farak and Dookhans misconduct. 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. Court records showed that Farak was smocking crack and dropping acid on the same day that she tested the drugs in Penates case. 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. How to Fix A Drug Scandal is Netflix's latest intriguing documentary series, and these are 10 details everyone missed. She was caught with evidence files under her desk, including unsealed envelopes . Am I somebody who took her personhood? 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. 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. Sonja Farak pleaded guilty to stealing samples of drugs from an Amherst drug lab. If she puts her mind to something, she can do it, Amy told the producers of How to Fix a Drug Scandal.. She received an 18-month jail sentence. These simple statements can be easily overlooked, which is why it is important that audiences are aware of the impact that these women had on criminal justice history. 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. Obsessed with Netflix? As How to Fix a Drug Scandal explores, Farak had long struggled with her mental . Dookhan, 34, faces charges in several counties in Massachusetts because she had previously testified in various trials in her former official capacity as a chemist. The place was closed as soon as Faraks crimes came to light. [4] Farak was accused of tampering with the evidence she was tasked with analyzing by using it to get high herself. Sonja Farak. Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. Disgraced former state lab chemist Sonja Farak leaves federal court in Springfield. In January 2014, Farak, then 35, of Northampton, was given an 18-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of theft of a controlled substance from an authorized dispensary (the drug . 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. [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. In one instance, it appeared that Farak had removed a substance from a case that had previously tested positive for cocaine and replaced it with a counterfeit substance that no longer tested positive, the release said. 100 Main Street, Third Floor That is as much public exposure as shes opened herself up to since her release from jail. After Faraks arrest in 2013, police found pages of mental health worksheets in her car indicating she'd struggled with drug addiction since at least 2011. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. I was provided for in every way, Farak testified. According to a newspaper article from 1992, she was the first female in Rhode Island to be on a high school football team. Three former Massachusetts assistant attorneys general all engaged in misconduct while investigating a state drug lab scandal involving disgraced former-chemist Sonja Farak, according to the . Carr said shes been shocked to read angry reactions towards Farak over Twitter. Copyright 2023 by Vizaca. 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. 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. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. (413) 586-4800lryan@strhlaw.com, DanielN. Marx Thank you for your website feedback! NEXT:How To Fix A Drug Scandal True Story: What The Documentary Leaves Out, 10 Things Everyone Completely Missed In Netflix's How to Fix a Drug Scandal, Top 10 Documentaries On Netflix Right Now (According To IMDb), The 10 Best Football Movies Ever Made, According to Rotten Tomatoes, Wicked Good: 10 Great Movies Set In Boston, How To Fix A Drug Scandal True Story: What The Documentary Leaves Out, Yellowstone's Dutton Family Tree Explained In Full, Witcher: Blood Origin Uses One NSFW History Detail Game Of Thrones Avoided, Fraiser Reboot Will Feature Some Original Show Cast Members After All. Because of Ms. Dookhan's misconduct, the Supreme Judicial Court ordered the dismissal with prejudice of thousands of drug cases. Farak, a chemist at the Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory in Amherst, was arrested in 2013. The staff in the new lab was also doubled, and the number of trainees was also increased. The scandal led to the dismissal of thousands of drug convictions. Netflix released a new docu-series called "How to Fix a Drug Scandal." Reporter. Farak is amongst one of the 18 defendants battling the lawsuit filed by Rolando Penate. Farak remained in jail Sunday, the attorney generals office said. The surveillance of the chemists as well as the standards and the confiscated drugs has also been increased considerably. The lawsuit names Kaczmarek, Farak and three members of the state police. She was arrested on January 19, 2013. 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. Netflix's documentary titled 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal' looks into . Most of entertainment usually involves male characters or people in some way as the key players of a story, but this documentary shows that that isn't always the case. 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 . As revealed in the docuseries, she confirmed that her childhood was normal and middle class. 2. 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. 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. Sonja Farak was a chemist at a state drug lab in Amherst, Massachusetts, from 2005 to 2013. While Dookhan spoiled evidence in the favor of the prosecution, Farak smoked it. General drug lab cases information. Her medical records included notes from Faraks therapist in Amherst, Anna Kogan. You can check your records electronically by following this link: Please do not include personal or contact information. 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. A final decision is still pending and must be approved by the state Supreme Judicial Court. RELATED:Top 10 Documentaries On Netflix Right Now (According To IMDb). 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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. 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. In episode 3, audiences are introduced to the ACLU and its involvement in the case. Boston, MA 02110 She received the American Institute of Chemists Award in her final year as well as a Crimson and Gray Award from the school a year before, which recognized her dedication, commitment and unselfishness in the enrichment of student life at WPI. A Rolling Stone piece on Farak also indicated that she graduated with high distinction from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. post office box as her contact information. 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. 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. Rick Sobey is a multimedia, general assignment reporter -- covering breaking news, politics and more across the region. 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. She was convicted to 18 months behind bars, followed by five years of probation and 500 hours of community services, the same year. I was totally controlled by my addiction," she revealed in the documentary. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. How does Jon Taffer Feb 1, 2023. Sonja Farak is at the center of Netflix's new true crime docuseries, How To Fix a Drug Scandal. A former state chemist, Sonja Farak, made headlines in 2013 when she was arrested for stealing and using drugs from a laboratory. Regarding the cases that she had handled, the Massachusetts courts threw out every case in the Amherst lab during her tenure. 2023 Cable News Network. The documentary's director Erin Lee Carr revealed to Women's Health that she had actually met with Sonja to discuss the four-part series. Carr said that Farak is a private person. How to Fix a Drug Scandal is available now on Netflix. I mean she could have been my client.. Farak was addicted to the drugs she was testing and was accused of smoking crack "10 to 12 times a day, including during work" at a lab in Amherst, according to a state probe. She was sentenced in 2014 to 18 months in prison and 5 years of probation. 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