SJC says state’s investigation of Amherst crime lab was lacking

April 8, 2015

Massachusetts’ highest court said Wednesday that top state law enforcement officials failed to fully investigate how many times former state chemist Sonja Farak tampered with drug evidence during the nine years she worked at a now-closed state lab in Amherst. . . .

An amicus brief filed by attorney Luke Ryan, who represented a defendant in another drug case, described documents officials found in Farak’s car that he said he viewed, which included diary cards that refer to urges to “take drugs.”

In an interview, Ryan said he believed the attorney general’s office faced a conflict of interest in investigating Farak.

“They were prosecuting Sonja Farak, but the more they looked into her misconduct, the more they realized it could affect the integrity of other cases,” Ryan said. “This wasn’t somebody who woke up the day before she was arrested and decided to start doing this.”