Innocence Project Calls For Probe Into 2 Former State Prosecutors In Amherst Drug Lab Scandal

On Friday, the Innocence Project called for a state investigation into two former Massachusetts assistant attorneys general with ties to the 2014 evidence tampering case of former state chemist Sonja Farak.

The group, whose mission is to exonerate wrongfully convicted inmates, filed two complaints with the Massachusetts Office of the Bar Counsel, each asking the state to look into the actions of Kris Foster and Anne Kaczmarek, respectively. The complaints accuse the former prosecutors of trying to hide and withhold evidence of Farak's wrongdoing.

Last month, Hampden County Superior Court Judge Richard Carey ruled that the two prosecutors concealed information about the extent of Farak's misconduct at the state drug lab in Amherst. The judge said the prosecutors "violated their oaths as officers of the court."

Farak spent 18 months in jail after she pleaded guilty to stealing and using narcotics from the lab.

The judge also dismissed some of the convictions obtained through Farak's drug testing. The Innocence Project complaints say the two prosecutors should be held personally responsible.

Foster and Kaczmarek worked under former Attorney General Martha Coakley. Foster is now general counsel for the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, while Kaczmarek works as an assistant clerk magistrate in Suffolk County.

The office, now under Attorney General Maura Healey, declined to comment, according to a spokesperson.