Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Rolando Penate: Sonja Farak; Massachusetts; Mass Live story on Penate's blistering $5.7 million federal court lawsuit alleging 'government corruption' in drug lab and evidence room scandals..."The 57-page lawsuit filed Tuesday paints a disheartening picture of the state's criminal justice system, including: an alleged thieving evidence room cop; the former state chemist who admitted she was raiding drug lab samples and consuming cocaine and LSD on the job; state attorneys and police who allegedly staged a cover-up to save face and avoid extra work; indifferent and underfunded state health officials who essentially relegated a now-defunct Amherst crime analysis lab to crash-and-burn status. These separately troubled individuals and agencies intersected to put Penate, a small-time accused heroin dealer, behind bars until Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey dismissed his conviction in late June, according to the suit."


STORY: "Alleging 'government corruption' in drug lab, evidence room scandals, Springfield drug defendant files $5.7 million federal lawsuit," by reporter Stephanie Barry,  published by Mass Live on September 5, 2017.
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