BOSTON – Federal law enforcement officials today arrested 14 owners and employees of New England Compounding Center (NECC) for charges including second-degree murder, racketeering, criminal contempt and mail fraud, in connection with the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, lead counsel for plaintiffs in the multi-district litigation against NECC.

Arrests included owners Barry Cadden and Greg Conigliaro and pharmacist Glenn Chin, among others. Cadden and Chin are charged with second-degree murder, and charges also include RICO counts. The charges reportedly include racketeering with 25 predicate acts of second-degree murder in eight states. Arraignments are expected later today. Download a copy of the NECC indictment.

“We applaud the federal government’s efforts to bring all responsible for this tragic outbreak to justice,” said Tom Sobol, lead counsel for the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and partner at Hagens Berman. “It is our sincere hope that the results achieved by the federal government include additional contributions to the growing victims’ compensation fund.”

Hagens Berman represents victims who were exposed to tainted epidural steroid injections manufactured by the Framingham, Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, NECC, that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports caused 64 deaths nationwide.

Following the outbreak, hundreds of lawsuits were filed across the country, alleging that NECC and affiliated companies ignored safety procedures in their facilities, resulting in the tainted steroid injections. The company filed for bankruptcy in December of 2012.

A proposed Chapter 11 Plan and related Disclosure Statement in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of NECC are pending approval from Judge Henry J. Boroff in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. If the plan is confirmed, at least $117 million is expected to be available for distributions to individuals with personal injury or wrongful death claims against NECC. NECC’s owners and insurers already have contributed nearly $50 million to the NECC estate for eventual distribution, and are expected to contribute additional sums through tax refunds and the sale of a related business.

Other third parties are expected to contribute an additional $56.8 million. These parties include NECC’s insurers and insurers of its affiliates, a company that provided product sample testing services to NECC, a company that installed ventilation systems at NECC, and certain clinics and health care providers that administered tainted NECC drugs.

The 2012 outbreak was the worst such outbreak in U.S. history. In addition to 64 fatalities, the CDC reported 751 cases of fungal meningitis, stroke or serious infection in 20 different states, linked to tainted drugs compounded and distributed by NECC.  For the CDC’s case count map, visit http://www.cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/meningitis-map-large.html.

Individuals with additional questions about the settlement may contact [email protected], or visit www.hbsslaw.com/cases/meningitis.

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with offices in nine cities. The firm has been named to the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List seven times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

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Ashley Klann
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