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MA Lab Chemist Sentenced to Prison

Former MA state chemist Annie Dookhan was sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison today for falsifying lab tests.

Dookhan’s falsification of drug tests, in an attempt to look like a highly productive employee, prompted the release of hundreds of convicts, raised questions about thousands of cases, and forced the state to spend millions to address the problems

I reported the details of her fraud, and the implications here.

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Mass. Drug Lab Chemist Arrested

Massachusetts drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested today on charges of obstruction of justice and lying about her educational degrees. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

Dookan has been the subject of a huge lab scandal in Mass. She tested over 60,000 samples in 34,000 cases over 9 years. She has admitted intentionally faking results. More than 1,100 inmates are still serving time in cases in which she performed or assisted in the drug tests. The lab has since been closed.

The only motive authorities have found so far is that Dookhan wanted to be seen as a good worker, the state attorney general said.

Dookhan is expected to face more charges as the investigation continues. While the state initially tried to portray Dookan as a rogue chemist, the problem seems to be systemic:

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S.F. Dismisses 25 Drug Cases, Orders Shut Down of Crime Lab

If you're going to be a police crime lab technician whose drug-testing work can put people in jail, it's probably not a good idea to be stealing and sampling the merchandise, i.e., the seized drugs.

Deborah Madden, age 60, a San Francisco crime lab tech for 29 years, has not been charged with a crime. But suspicions she stole and used cocaine from drug evidence have caused
San Francisco to dismiss 25 drug cases.

Madden abruptly retired Dec. 8 after 29 years on the job and has been in treatment recently for drug and alcohol use, officials said. She left the crime lab shortly after an audit discovered that drug evidence was missing, officials said.

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