According to her teammates, She was the best center in the league last year, and they [felt] stronger with her in there than with some guys.. Every single day, Farak would get high; the chemist used the bathroom to smoke crack and the lab facilities to cook more. A majority of the report focused on Kaczmarek, who was primarily in charge of the day-to-day handling of the Farak prosecution. Farak wasn't . My findings, conclusions and credibility determinations above and below reflect that Kaczmarek not only failed to do this; she actively misled others in the AGO as to what had been produced to the DAOs.. 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. [2][3], Dookhan was accused of forging reports and tampering with samples to produce desired results. Lets find out. 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. You skipped the table of contents section. She has since been one of 18 defendants facing a lawsuit by Rolando Penate, who claims they committed "intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to the conspiracy to violate [Penates] civil rights.. READ NEXT: Sonja Farak: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Even though Farak found a job after graduation and was settled down with her partner, she continued to struggle with depression and felt like a stranger in her body. Netflix's documentary titled 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal' looks into 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. The four-part Netflix series goes deep into the story of a man named Rolando Penate, a case Farak had handled at the lab. She was ar-rested for tampering with evidence while abusing narcotics at work. Approximately one year later, she pled guilty to tampering with evidence, unlawful possession, and stealing narcotics. We will use this information to improve this page. Her medical records included notes from Faraks therapist in Amherst, Anna Kogan. Regarding the cases that she had handled, the Massachusetts courts threw out every case in the Amherst lab during her tenure. Kaczmarek is one of three former prosecutors whose role in the prosecution of Farak later became the focus of several lawsuits and disciplinary hearings. Farak admitted in testimony that she began using drugs almost as soon as she started working at the Massachusetts State Crime Lab in Amherst. 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. I wasnt abused and yet I still turned out a certain way, still had some problems.. In 2019, she was seen leaving the Springfield Federal Court but declined to comment on the status of the case. She married Lee after starting her job, but their marriage was rocky. Published Jul 1, 2020. Previously to her arrest, Farak lived in Laurel Park, Northampton in Massachusetts. After her arrest, she received support from her parents, who showed up to her court appearances, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported. When Farak was arrested,former Attorney General Martha Coakley told the public investigators believed Farak tampered with drugs at the lab for only a few months. Farak is one of two Massachusetts drug lab technicians who were caught tainting evidence that was . In How to Fix a Drug Scandal, there are some funny moments, surprising details, and shocking facts that are interesting, but hard to catch. The Netflix show highlights not only the arrest and trial of Farak, but also the missteps taken by the state to ignore the extent of the cases affected by Faraks actions. She was ultimately sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2014. The number is888-999-2881. Not only did she do this in the lab, but also in court whilst testifying in relation to cases. How to Fix a Drug Scandal premiered on Netflix April 1, and it has told the compelling stories of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan. Sonja Farak in How to Fix a Drug Scandal. They were all rendered unacceptable. Farak remained in jail Sunday, the attorney generals office said. After she was caught, Farak pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the lab and was sentenced to prison time of 18 months. Rolling Stone covered both drug lab scandals in 2018 and uncovered that Farak had undergone from depression for many years. An ex-lab chemist Sonja Farak's negligence and misdeeds shocked US when she was arrested in 2013 for stealing and using drugs from the lab where she worked. If you're on the prowl for . Its unclear if she still owns the property and if she lives there now. "I was smoking in the lab, I was smoking at home. In December 2011, Springfield, Massachusetts police arrested Rolando Penate for allegedly selling heroin, and the drugs were sent off to be tested by then-35-year-old drug lab chemist Sonja Farak . Sonja Farak was a chemist for a state crime lab in Massachusetts. 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. She tested . In 2014, former Amherst drug lab chemist Sonja Farak was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison after it was discovered that she stole and used drugs that she was entrusted to test. It wasnt until she started working at a crime lab responsible for testing drugs acquired from arrests that Farak became addicted to drugs. Former chemist Annie Dookhan was convicted in 2013 on charges of improperly testing drug evidence at a drug lab in Boston. Many people watching the show are wondering: where is Sonja Farak now? However, throughout her time at the lab, Sonja was habitually abusing these substances for personal use and carried out her role whilst high on liquid methamphetamine, cocaine, LSD and even crack. After serving just a year of her 18 month sentence, Farak was released from prison in 2015. But whether anyone investigated her conduct during a brief stint working at the state's Boston drug lab is at . Money Heist season 3 recap: How did La Casa de Papel Part 3 end? But director Erin Lee Carr 's engrossing docuseries goes a different way. 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. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Authorities also determined that Farak allegedly possessed what appeared to be Class A and B substances, the release said. I can guess that it has been very, very painful for her, she said. Netflix Pandemic doctor believes he's stumbled on 20-minute coronavirus cure. On January 6, 2014, Farak pled guilty to the charges against her. Despite being a star child of the family, Sonja suffered from the mental illnesses that haunted her even in adulthood. How to Fix a Drug Scandal premiered on Netflix April 1, and it has told the compelling stories of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan. He recommended she lose her law license for two years; the Office of Bar Counsel later argued Kaczmarek should be disbarred. Sonja received a job as a chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory building in Jamaica Plain after getting her college degree. 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. A search of her bag later showed the ingredients for cooking her own cocaine: baking soda, candle wax, and modeling clay, along with utensils that she could use to make it. 2. 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. A federal judge has rejected claims from an embattled former state prosecutor that she is protected from liability in the fallout over a Massachusetts drug lab scandal. How to Fix a Drug Scandal is an American true crime documentary miniseries that was released on Netflix on April 1, 2020. Farak has stayed sober, according to the docuseries. Filmmaker Erin Lee Carrs recent docu-series How to Fix a Drug Scandal twinkles a spotlight on wrongdoing on several levels but its main focus is on a Massachusetts former drug lab technician named Sonja Farak. It didnt matter whether or not she was the one who did the testing or some other chemist. The pair's actions saw around 44,000 drug convictions overturned and resulted in prison sentences for the pair. Another chemist was accused of tampering, affecting 34,000 drug cases, in October. In How To Fix A Drug Scandal, we learn about Sonja Farak, who was arrested in 2013 on counts of evidence tampering. She had been accused of intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to the conspiracy to violate [Penates] civil rights.. 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. We allege that this chemist tampered with evidence, placing the integrity of that evidence in question, Coakley said in a statement. Since Farak makes one half of the scandal, heres what you need to know about what she did and where she is now. Here are 10 things everyone completely missed in Netflix's How to Fix a Drug Scandal. Sonja Farak's net worth is estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million in 2020. 24 Federal Street, 4th Floor READ NEXT: Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts, Sonja Farak: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. post office box as her contact information. You can find copies of the Dookhan Notice Letterbelow. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the official website. Heres what you need to know about Sonja Farak: Farak was born on January 13, 1978, in Rhode Island to Stanley and Linda Farak. Since her release, she has kept a low profile and managed to stay out of the public . When she got married, it turned out that her wife, too, suffered from her own demons, and their collective anguish made Sonja desperate for a reprieve from this life. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The court will be sending notices to those affected by Ms. Faraks misconduct. Sonja Farak Photo: Netflix. 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 Farak scandal came as the state grappled with another drug lab crisis. This achievement earned her a full page layout in the local paper and some local TV news coverage. 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. Instead, all such relief must now be sought through the pending class action lawsuit, Stacey Foster v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al, provided that the claimant meetsthe criteria to qualify as a member of the class. According to a newspaper article from 1992, she was the first female in Rhode Island to be on a high school football team. 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. While its a small fact said in the documentary mini-series, its a mind-bogglingone. By Gina Tron. The Netflix docuseries ends by acknowledging that Farak received an 18-month sentence, and that defense attorney Luke Ryan was able . Netflixs How to Fix a Drug Scandal Story: 5 Fast Facts. Thousands of people who had drug convictions in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, may soon see them vacated due to a "catastrophic failure of management," the county's district attorney Rachael . She purchased a home there in 2006. I mean she could have been my client.. In the . For How to Fix a Drug Scandal, the story is about two women who start the scandals. Deborah Becker Twitter Host/ReporterDeborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. The newest true crime series from Netflix, How to Fix a Drug Scandal, was released on April 1, 2020. Why did she do that and where has it left her? No shot is filmed on accident. One of the reasons for the decrepit state and standard of the Amherst lab was the lack of funds. This not only led to people getting a reprieve from prison but also filing their own lawsuits against the injustice they had to suffer. It gave me energy. The show also examines the state problems while defining and . Please limit your input to 500 characters. In 2019, she was seen attending a civil court case relating to her, but she's otherwise kept a . Powered by. Where is Sonja Farak now? The prosecutors have been tied to the drug lab scandal involving disgraced former state chemist Sonja Farak, who admitted to stealing and using drugs from an Amherst state lab. Copyright 2023 by Vizaca. On its face, the allegations against this chemist do not implicate the reliability of testing done or fairness to defendants.. Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan & Hoose After serving for 13 months, she was released on parole in 2015. The charges against Penate were dismissed after Farak's conviction. 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. Thats when she found a home working at a lab in the Morrill Science Building on the UMass Amherst campus. How to Fix A Drug Scandal is Netflix's latest intriguing documentary series, and these are 10 details everyone missed. Where Is Sonja Farak Now? It features the true story of Sonja Farak, a former state drug lab chemist in Massachusetts who was arrested in 2013 for consuming the drugs she was supposed to test and tampering with the evidence to cover up her tracks. The special hearing officer found Kaczmarek "displayed no remorse" and was "not candid" during the disciplinary proceedings. She cried as she was sentenced. Please limit your input to 500 characters. Farak graduated with high distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and was excited about science, according to Rolling Stone. An investigation was immediately launched. She isnt 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. 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