Her interest soon led to a regular drug habit. Well, before the credits rolled, the documentary revealed Sonja Farak is reportedly still sober. In the civil suit, she filed her own answer to the lawsuit and hired the services of attorney Susan Sachs. Thank you for your website feedback! Faraks wife had her own mental health problems, and according to Rolling Stone, Farak would have conflict with her wife every night at home. In her response to the lawsuit, Farak wrote: I agree that I began stealing and using the state labs supply of methamphetamine oil, but I do not recall if it was late 2004 or early 2005 so I cannot agree with the year stated.. Farak made crack cocaine at the Lab. 2020 American documentary television mini-series, "How to Fix a Drug Scandal: behind a staggering Netflix crime docuseries", "Inspector General: Dookhan 'Sole Bad Actor' In State Drug Lab Scandal", "24,000 charges tossed because they were tainted by former Amherst lab chemist's misconduct", "Netflix's 'How To Fix A Drug Scandal' Elevates Process Over Personality", "How to Fix a Drug Scandal is the staggering true story of justice gone very wrong", Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer, Break it All: The History of Rock in Latin America, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan, Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer, Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=How_to_Fix_a_Drug_Scandal&oldid=1123661369, 2020s American documentary television series, English-language Netflix original programming, Netflix original documentary television series, Documentary television series about crime in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 November 2022, at 00:02. In fact, she was the first girl in the state of Rhode Island to play high school football in a public school system. Who is Sonja Farak, the former state drug lab chemist featured in the show? Court records showed that Farak was smocking crack and dropping acid on the same day that she tested the drugs in Penates case. "All Defendant had to do to honor the Plaintiffs Brady rights was to turn over copies of documents that were obviously exculpatory as to the Farak defendants or accede to one of the repeated requests from counsel, including Plaintiffs counsel, that they be permitted to inspect the evidence seized from Faraks car," Robertson wrote in her ruling. Its a quick two-shot sequence, but it provides punny humor for those that caught the joke. You can find copies of the Dookhan Notice Letterbelow. This not only led to people getting a reprieve from prison but also filing their own lawsuits against the injustice they had to suffer. In 2018, all of the criminal convictions more than 10,000 that Farak worked on were dismissed. Since most drug chemists spend most of their time testing evidence, it doesn't make sense to showcase a chemist sitting at a bench, doing their work, when most of the exciting parts are actually catching the criminals. More than that, she sinks her teeth into the ones that are chock-full of scandalous details. The day Farak was supposed to analyze the sample, she wrote in her diary, tried to resist [using] @ work but ended up failing, per the Washington Post. Sonja Farak, one of the drug chemists putin the spotlight in the documentary, first made headlines when she was the first girl in Rhode Island to play high school football in a public school system! You can check your records electronically by following this link:https://icori.chs.state.ma.us. Am I somebody who took her personhood? I think shes a good person, she said. That settlement awaits approval by a judge. El 6 de enero de 2014, Farak se declar culpable de los cargos en su contra. Without ever absolving these two women, Carr finds something tragic in . These simple statements can be easily overlooked, which is why it is important that audiences are aware of the impact that these women had on criminal justice history. NORTHAMPTON Sonja J. Farak told a nurse at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center in Chicopee in December 2013 that she used methamphetamines and other stimulants "whenever she could get her hands on them." And since her job as a chemist was to test drug samples at a state drug lab in Amherst, that opportunity . She was sentenced in January 2014 after she pled guilty to four counts of theft of a controlled substance from an authorized dispensary, four counts of tampering with evidence and two counts of cocaine possession. Learn The Real Facts About What Dinosaur Had 500 Teeth. [2][3], Dookhan was accused of forging reports and tampering with samples to produce desired results. Soon after, the state police took over the control, and the lab was moved to Springfield, where it remains under the supervision of the state police. 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. The hotline is open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a . He was most recently a reporter at The Lowell Sun. How to Fix A Drug Scandal is Netflix's latest intriguing documentary series, and these are 10 details everyone missed. 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.. [7], How to Fix a Drug Scandal was released on April 1, 2020, on Netflix.[2]. 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. A lock icon ( Mass.gov is a registered service mark of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The newest true-crime docu-series on Netflix that requires to be on your to-watch list is How to Fix a Drug Scandal, a shocking glance into how two drug lab chemists deliberately changed the proof over the course of many years and affected tens of thousands of court cases. Please limit your input to 500 characters. The latest true crime series from Netflix follows one of the most notorious scandals to ever hit law enforcement in the US. Reporter. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. In How to Fix a Drug Scandal, there are some funny moments, surprising details, and shocking facts that are interesting, but hard to catch. Matt is short for Matthew, and the mat is a play on words of his name. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Sonja received a job as a chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory building in Jamaica Plain after getting her college degree. In the documentary, an actress plays Sonja Farak for B-roll scenes, and that actress is Shannon ONeill. Sonja Farak was a chemist at a state drug lab in Amherst, Massachusetts, from 2005 to 2013. Very little is known about Farak, the former chemist at the states drug lab, since she has kept a very low profile, even more so after her release from prison. Sonja Farak was hired by DPH in July 2003 as a drug lab chemist. Something went wrong, please try again later. Investigators gave that information to Kaczmarek and the state AG's office,according tohearings before thestate board that disciplines attorneys. This documentary mini-series follows the stories of these two drug lab . 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. She Was Born in 1978 & Raised in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In How To Fix A Drug Scandal, we learn about Sonja Farak, who was arrested in 2013 on counts of evidence tampering. Those are things that cause people, including my clients, to make choices that negatively impact themselves and others. We will use this information to improve this page. She grew up in Portsmouth with her sister Amy. Where is Sonja now? Sincevery few people willingly dabble in drugs, its more of a question to ask why is this person using drugs to begin with? This is even further legitimized when it's revealed Sonja Farak was dealing with depression since she was 16 years old. 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Would love your thoughts, please comment. Please limit your input to 500 characters. The latest true crime offering from Netflix is the documentary series How to Fix a Drug Scandal. It dives into the story of Sonja Farak, a chemist who worked for a Massachusetts state drug lab and got arrested for taking the drugs she was testing as well as tampering with evidence. | Powered by Artimization. Jon Taffer Net Worth: Who is Jon Taffer? Regarding the cases that she had handled, the Massachusetts courts threw out every case in the Amherst lab during her tenure. The court will be sending notices to those affected by Ms. Faraks misconduct. How to Fix a Drug Scandal premiered on Netflix April 1, and it has told the compelling stories of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan. Published Jul 1, 2020. After her arrest, she received support from her parents, who showed up to her court appearances, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported. Sonja Farak was born in San Diego, California and within a year her family shifted to Newport, Rhode Island after her Navy father was transferred to the east coast. Authorities also determined that Farak allegedly possessed what appeared to be Class A and B substances, the release said. Farak, a chemist at the Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory in Amherst, was arrested in 2013. Carr weaves Farak's story into that of another Massachusetts chemist, Annie Dookhan, who worked across the state at the Hinton drug lab in Boston. On a Friday afternoon in January 2013, a call came in to Coakley's office: "We have another Annie Dookhan out west." Earlier that day, a chemist at the Amherst drug lab had tracked . CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. The surveillance of the chemists as well as the standards and the confiscated drugs has also been increased considerably. The lax security and regulations of the place and the negligent supervision of the employees and the stock of standards are the reasons why Farak was encouraged to do what she did. All Rights Reserved. Specifically speaking, she played on the line on offense and defense. In 2019, she was seen attending a civil court case relating to her, but she's otherwise kept a . (Approx.) Most of entertainment usually involves male characters or people in some way as the key players of a story, but this documentary shows that that isn't always the case. Kaczmarek argued the findings are subject to appeal. Defense attorney Luke Ryan's clients Rolando Penate and Rafael Rodriguez were convicted based upon Sonja Farak's drug lab testing. Farak also used her position in the lab to manufacture her own drugs for personal use. How to Fix a Drug Scandal is an American true crime documentary miniseries that was released on Netflix on April 1, 2020. All Rights Reserved. Dookhan was convicted of falsifying test . Previously to her arrest, Farak lived in Laurel Park, Northampton in Massachusetts. If you can't get enough of true crime documentaries, Netflix is your best friend. Tens of thousands of criminal drug cases were dismissed as a result of misconduct by Dookhan and Farak. Discovery Company. Given the account that Farak was a law-abiding citizen, it is questioned as to how an By Gina Tron. A status hearing on Penate's suit, which was filed in 2017, is scheduled for July. [5] The actions of both women, who acted independently, resulted in tens of thousands of drug counts being dismissed, the largest single mass dismissal of criminal cases in U.S. A former state chemist, Sonja Farak, made headlines in 2013 when she was arrested for stealing and using drugs from a laboratory. Northampton, MA 01060 Approximately one year later, she pled guilty to tampering with evidence, unlawful possession, and stealing narcotics. Commonwealth Magazine - After rare public trial, disciplinary case now in hands of hearing officer THE JANUARY 2013 drug arrest of disgraced Massachusetts state chemist Sonja Farak and its impact on thousands of drug cases was widely reported as it unfolded, and memorialized to devastating effect in Netflix's docu-series How to Fix a Drug Scandal. In order to cover her tracks, per Rolling Stone and the Netflix doc, Farak would add ersatz powder to some of the drug samples she used. The hammer came down, so to speak, when it was discovered Farak had been high when testing drug samples from Renaldo Penates case. You can try, Suspensions and a reprimand proposed for prosecutors admonished in drug lab scandal. She remained a football fan, and loved the Patriots. In "How to Fix a Drug Scandal," a new four-part Netflix docuseries, documentary filmmaker Erin Lee Carr presents the stories of Massachusetts drug lab chemists Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak, and . Netflix's documentary titled 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal' looks into . 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 . Since her release, she has kept a low profile and managed to stay out of the public eye. 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. RELATED:The 10 Best Football Movies Ever Made, According to Rotten Tomatoes. Sonja Farak was a chemist for a state crime lab in Massachusetts. "No reasonable individual could have failed to appreciate the unlawfulness of [Kaczmarek's] actions in these circumstances," Robertson wrote in her ruling. Why did she do that and where has it left her? A scandal erupts, raising questions for the thousands of defendants in her cases. The staff in the new lab was also doubled, and the number of trainees was also increased. 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. Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Spanish, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Khmer, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Russian, Notice of Dismissal with Prejudice: Vietnamese, To find out if your case was affected by either Ms. Dookhan or Ms. Farak, you can call a toll-free hotline operated by defense lawyers with the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the public defender agency in Massachusetts. A new documentary by Netflix 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal' looks at the . 2. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. appreciated. As revealed in the docuseries, she confirmed that her childhood was normal and middle class. After serving just a year of her 18 month sentence, Farak was released from prison in 2015. She cried as she was sentenced. For How to Fix a Drug Scandal, the story is about two women who start the scandals. No shot is filmed on accident. She purchased a home there in 2006. I think its very painful to be Sonja and I regret having to advocate against her, Ryan said in the docuseries. Furthermore, she said she has been grasping with how the docuseries may have affected Faraks life. In Massachusetts it doesn't even end there. April 2, 2020 12:56 pm. They wrote that she served 13 . Three former Massachusetts assistant attorneys general all engaged in misconduct while investigating a state drug lab scandal involving disgraced former-chemist Sonja Farak, according to the . That is as much public exposure as shes opened herself up to since her release from jail. 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. She is a decent height with good physical . Sonja Farak's stature. Hanchett found a leftover beaker with a white residue on it. Its almost as if somebody would take the worst part of my life and show it to millions of people., The project has brought up issues Carr is still dealing with. . Top-requested sites to log in to services provided by the state. The civil lawsuit was one of the last tied to prosecutors' disputedhandling of the case against disgraced ex-chemist Sonja Farak, who was convicted in 2014 of ingesting drug samples she was supposed to test at the Amherst state drug lab. It wasnt until she started working at a crime lab responsible for testing drugs acquired from arrests that Farak became addicted to drugs. Obviously, after a blunder of such scale, no one would want their samples checked from the same lab. She was given an 18-month sentence, along with five years of probation. Read More: Where is Sonja Farak Sister Now? Sonja Farak in the dock after her arrest for stealing drugs Credit: AP:Associated Press. In 2019, Sonja was seen leaving Springfield Federal Court but declined to speak to press. 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. I can guess that it has been very, very painful for her, she said. Sonja Farak Photo: Netflix. You can check your records electronically by following this link: Please do not include personal or contact information. 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