Saturday, September 14, 2013

Sonja Farak; Massachusetts: The former Amherst drug lab chemist comes under scrutiny in a courtroom as 15 people seek new trials after her arrest on drug charges. The Republican;


STORY: "Activities of Sonja Farak, former Amherst drug lab chemist, under microscope as 15 people want new trials after her arrest on drug charges," by reporter Buffy Spencer, published by the Republican on September 9, 2013.

GIST: "Sharon Salem, the evidence officer for the now closed drug testing laboratory in Amherst, testified Monday on Jan. 17 she discovered two drug samples missing from the vault where they belonged. She told her supervisor the next day and they went to chemist Sonja Farak’s work station, where they first found a bucket containing substances that could be used to decrease the purity of cocaine. Salem said her reaction was “Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God. (That) shouldn’t be here.” Salem was testifying at a Hampden Superior Court hearing set by Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder to hear evidence of the scope and timing of Farak’s alleged criminal conduct. In the courtroom were 15 convicted men and women, six of them in handcuffs, who are seeking new trials based on Farak’s alleged acts and how they affected their cases."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/09/activities_of_sonja_farak_form.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com