"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.". Sonja Farak. 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 . They wrote that she served 13 months and was paroled sometime in 2015. Furthermore, she said she has been grasping with how the docuseries may have affected Faraks life. And surprisingly, its actually her! 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. If you need assistance, please contact the Executive Office of the Trial Court. She was discharged in 2015 and has kept a low profile since. Farak stole the drugs (mainly meth, cocaine, and crack cocaine) because she was addicted. Something went wrong, please try again later. 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. 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. She was sentenced in 2014 to 18 months in prison and 5 years of probation. She was given an 18-month sentence, along with five years of probation. That settlement awaits approval by a judge. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. Because of Ms. Dookhan's misconduct, the Supreme Judicial Court ordered the dismissal with prejudice of thousands of drug cases. 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. Hanchett found a leftover beaker with a white residue on it. In 2019, the former chemist was seen attending a civil case at a federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts. Rick Sobey is a multimedia, general assignment reporter -- covering breaking news, politics and more across the region. A different film might have demonized Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, showing how their unconscionable behavior sent potentially innocent people to jail, destroying countless lives in the process. 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. Money Heist season 5 on Netflix: Will there be a La Casa de Papel part 5? When testing Penates sample a second time, Farak had taken LSD and the sensation of colors in the wind left her unable to function for work. Still, when Penates lawyers inquired about Faraks drug usage, the Massachusetts state prosecutors refused to give up information. She is a decent height with good physical . 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. If she puts her mind to something, she can do it, Amy told the producers of How to Fix a Drug Scandal.. The T-shirtreferencesthe popular television show, Law and Order, but instead of saying Law and Order, it says Flaw and Order, with Mass Exoneration Unitunderneath. The special hearing officer found Kaczmarek "displayed no remorse" and was "not candid" during the disciplinary proceedings. Sonja received a job as a chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory building in Jamaica Plain after getting her college degree. The court will be sending notices to those affected by Ms. Faraks misconduct. Farak also used her position in the lab to manufacture her own drugs for personal use. Kaczmarek is one of three former prosecutors whose role in the prosecution of Farak later became the focus of several lawsuits and disciplinary hearings. Without ever absolving these two women, Carr finds something tragic in . 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. 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 . Yet, the cases of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhanbecame "one of the largest mass dismissals of criminal convictions in United States history." Prev Next - Advertisement - Latest Stories . Her interest soon led to a regular drug habit. After high school, Sonja went on to major in biochemistry at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in western Massachusetts. Sonja Farak. 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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. 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. Farak graduated with high distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and was excited about science, according to Rolling Stone. The four-part Netflix series goes deep into the story of a man named Rolando Penate, a case Farak had handled at the lab. As per her own court testimony, as revealed in the docu-series, Farak began working at a state drug lab in Amherst in 2004. 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. More than that, she sinks her teeth into the ones that are chock-full of scandalous details. She played as the starting guard for Portsmouth High Schools freshman team. She had also kept a detailed daily record of her substance abuse for a drug counsellor, which noted that she used. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Obsessed with Netflix? Only a few months after Dookhan's conviction, it was discovered that another Massachusetts crime lab worker, Sonja Farak, who was addicted to drugs . As of May 19, 2020, allclaimsfor relief due to an invalidated conviction as a result of the misconduct of Sonya Farak and Annie Dookhancan no longer bebrought through an individual motion process. Faraks findings, and occasional testimony at court about her testing, was used as proof to convict the person who had been arrested. In How to Fix a Drug Scandal, there are some funny moments, surprising details, and shocking facts that are interesting, but hard to catch. Inwardly though, Sonja Farak was striving. Its almost as if somebody would take the worst part of my life and show it to millions of people., The project has brought up issues Carr is still dealing with. The charges against Penate were dismissed after Farak's conviction. 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.. In one scene, theres an ACLU poster, and on it is a woman that looks eerily similar to actress and producer, Olivia Wilde. Her reporting focuses on mental health, criminal justice and education. Luke Ryan Photo: Netflix "How to Fix a Drug Scandal" documents the riveting details about how a . Release year: 2020. She started working shortly after for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in July 2003 until July 2012, and from July 2012 until January 2013 for the Massachusetts State Police when the lab fell under their jurisdiction. 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. The case notoriously involved a rare one . How to Fix A Drug Scandal is Netflix's latest intriguing documentary series, and these are 10 details everyone missed. While not reporting, he enjoys long-distance running. So she turned to drugs, which were incredibly easy to procure. appreciated. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. She was ar-rested for tampering with evidence while abusing narcotics at work. Heres what you need to know about Sonja Farak: Farak was born on January 13, 1978, in Rhode Island to Stanley and Linda Farak. Kaczmarek also oversaw the prosecution for the attorney general's office in that case. Top-requested sites to log in to services provided by the state. Prior to working at the Amherst Drug Lab, Farak had been a chemist at the Hinton Drug Lab from 2003 to 2004. . 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! Kaczmarek argued the findings are subject to appeal. Sonja Farak is the former state drug lab chemist featured in Netflix's "How to Fix a Scandal." He was most recently a reporter at The Lowell Sun. 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The Netflix docuseries ends by acknowledging that Farak received an 18-month sentence, and that defense attorney Luke Ryan was able . 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. Farak testified that she started off trying meth in the lab because she was curious. She confessed that back in college shed research drugs and noted that meth sounded like one she was especially interested in trying. Its a quick two-shot sequence, but it provides punny humor for those that caught the joke. This documentary mini-series follows the stories of these two drug lab chemists, one in Boston and one in Amherst, and how their mistakes led to the wrongful convictions of over 30,000 people. 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. Its unclear if Farak is still with Lee, as they have both remained out of the public eye since the case. A new documentary by Netflix 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal' looks at the . While Dookhan had tampered with evidence and indulged in dry-labbing, Farak stole from her workplace. She started working there in 2004 and appreciated that it was more laid back than the job at Hinton. Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. Investigators gave that information to Kaczmarek and the state AG's office,according tohearings before thestate board that disciplines attorneys. 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. Thats when she found a home working at a lab in the Morrill Science Building on the UMass Amherst campus. I wasnt abused and yet I still turned out a certain way, still had some problems.. She continued to experience suicidal thoughts, but instead of going through with those thoughts, she started taking the drugs that she would be testing at work. The dilemma went beyond Farak, which How to Fix a Drug Scandal deeply explores. 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. You skipped the table of contents section. 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