Guilty plea expected in Mass. drug lab scandal
Nov 22, 2013, 7:07 AM
BOSTON (AP) – A chemist at a Massachusetts drug lab who allegedly admitted faking test results in criminal cases is expected to plead guilty to obstruction of justice, perjury and tampering with evidence charges.
Annie Dookhan of Franklin has a change-of-plea hearing scheduled for Friday in Suffolk Superior Court. She initially pleaded not guilty to 27 charges.
During a court hearing last month, prosecutors said Dookhan admitted “dry labbing,” or testing only a fraction of a batch of samples, then listing them all as positive for illegal drugs.
State police shut down the state Department of Public Health lab she worked at after discovering her alleged misconduct.
Judge Carol Ball said in a written memo she’d impose a sentence of three to five years if Dookhan decided to change her plea to guilty.
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