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Sonja Farak

(The Republican [file])



SPRINGFIELD - Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Wednesday there could be "tens of thousands" of past drug cases in this county affected by the wrongdoing of former state chemist Sonja Farak.

Gulluni said his office has worked closely with the office of state Attorney General Maura Healy for months on the issue.

He said the first priority for his office is to identify people currently incarcerated or serving probation in drug cases that might have been affected by Farak's behavior.

In January 2014, Farak was given an 18-month jail sentence after admitting she stole some of the cocaine she was supposed to be testing. Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup also ordered Farak, 35, of Northampton to serve five years of probation and perform 500 hours of community service after she is released from custody.

When the investigation by the Attorney General's Office identifies how far back Farak's evidence tampering and drug thefts went, Gulluni said, his office will look for all cases that need reviewing.

Jane Montori, head of the Appeal Division of Gulluni's office, is heading the effort to identify Farak cases, Gulluni said.

"It's an unfortunate situation. It's a hurdle we have to get over. She (Farak) had a great responsibility and didn't comport herself appropriately," Gulluni said.

Retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis has been put in charge of a statewide investigation into the scope of Farak's work at the now-closed Amherst state laboratory.

Velis, of Westfield, was appointed to serve as a special assistant attorney general "to provide an independent and external view on the investigation," according to Chloe Gotsis, spokeswoman for Attorney General Maura Healey.

"Our office volunteered to lead this investigation with other agencies, at the court's request of the Commonwealth, and we continue to work with District Attorneys, the defense bar, and the Administration to investigate the matter fully and to address the concerns raised by the court," Gotsis said.

"We are especially troubled whenever the integrity of the justice system is threatened and therefore have sought the very best to lead our investigation into the scope and timing of Sonja Farak's actions at the Amherst drug lab," she said.

Based on a court filing obtained by The Boston Globe, defense lawyers are saying that thousands of cases may have been tainted - possibly as many as 10,000.

According to the court filings, Farak described the extent of her drug habit to a therapist in 2009. For years, Farak, who was addicted to cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamines, never had to leave her office, because she could obtain the drugs normally bought from street dealers right in her office.

"She obtains the drugs for her job at the state drug lab, by taking portions of samples that have come in to be tested," one of Farak's therapists wrote after an April 2009 counseling session.

In April, Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court found that top state law enforcement officials had failed to fully investigate the scope of Farak's actions.

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan said Monday his office would comb through its files back to 2004.

Sullivan now believes there might have been up to 2,000 cases in his jurisdiction affected by Farak. He also said the ball is in the state's court.

"As in the past, our District Attorney's office will fully assist in any investigation," a statement released Monday by Sullivan's office said. "This case reflects a gross lack of oversight by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that managed this drug lab for most of the time Sonja Farak was employed. The institutional failure to subject Farak and other chemists to regular random drug tests was dumbfounding. This created a perfect storm, where one bad apple has seriously undercut the integrity of this drug lab. National testing standards and good management practices should have prevented this debacle from ever happening. The professional investigative work by law enforcement and prosecutors to hold drug traffickers accountable has now been put in peril."

Sullivan said his office has provided a list of its drug cases analyzed by Farak from 2004 to her termination in December 2012.