A state drug lab was shut down Thursday after police discovered a chemist failed to follow testing protocols, potentially exposing thousands of convictions to legal challenges.
The lab was involved in certifying drug evidence in cases submitted by local police from around the state, including Boston. A state police spokesman said the chemist's actions went beyond sloppiness into deliberate malfeasance.
In June, state police were informed about inconsistencies in the chemist's work at the lab, which was then run by the state Department of Public Health. When state police took over operation of the lab in July as part of a budgetary directive, they began their own audit.
Within the last few days, state police realized the [b["large scope" of the chemist's inconsistencies and decided to close the lab, Hinton State Laboratory Institute,[/b] said state police spokesman David Procopio.
Procopio said it is unclear how many drug cases may have been mishandled by the chemist, but he said she performed thousands of tests since she began working at the lab in 2003, either as the primary chemist or as a secondary chemist.
He said there is evidence that the chemist, who resigned in March during the Public Health Department's internal investigation, not only failed to follow proper protocols, but in some cases deliberately mishandled drug evidence.
"This is more than just allegations of sloppiness and cutting corners," Procopio said. "The allegations include malfeasance, deliberate mishandling."
Procopio would not say if police believe she purposely changed the results of drug tests to help police win drug convictions.
Chemists at the lab performed drug certifications for local police departments, who then give the results to prosecutors. For example, if someone is arrested for having a white powdery substance, a chemist tests the substance, then certifies that it is cocaine and certifies its quantity so that prosecutors can use it as evidence in a criminal case.
Police would not name the chemist, and she is not charged with a crime. Procopio said state Attorney General Martha Coakley's office is conducting a criminal investigation.
"We are concerned that in some of the cases, there's a likelihood that justice was not served, that a defendant did not get a fair trial and that it's possible that people may be incarcerated unjustly," he said.
from defense attorneys was swift. Several said they will challenge the results of any drug certification performed by the chemist.
"It's going to throw the system into some confusion for a while," said John LaChance, a Framingham defense attorney.
"If a case has been closed, they are going to have to go back and look through those cases to see if protocols were followed, and if the protocols weren't followed, they should have to notify counsel or the defendants themselves so they can file a motion for a new trial or a motion to vacate a guilty plea."
Gov. Deval Patrick said he instructed state police to close the lab. He called the chemist's alleged violations "deeply troubling."
"No breach this serious can or will be tolerated," Patrick said in a statement. "The state police will continue their investigation to determine what happened and who is responsible so that we can hold those accountable."
Procopio said district attorneys and public defenders were notified Thursday about the chemist's violations. He said the next step is for state police to identify which cases the chemist worked on and then to give that information to prosecutors so that they "take whatever appropriate post-conviction action."
Ten other chemists who worked at the lab were placed on administrative leave and will eventually be sent to work at another of the nine state police labs. Procopio said those chemists are not suspected of any wrongdoing.
Mass. Lab Shut Down Over Improper Drug Testing - ABC News
They wont notice if .15 is gone 
