Trial Begins For Pharmacist Charged In Deadly Meningitis Outbreak

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Massachusetts pharmacist facing murder charges for his role in a deadly nationwide meningitis outbreak is set to go on trial.

is charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy and other crimes under federal racketeering law. He was the supervisory pharmacist at the New England Compounding Center in Framingham.

The 2012 meningitis outbreak killed 76 people and sickened more than 750 others in 20 states, including Michigan. It was traced to contaminated steroid injections made by the facility. Chin ran the clean rooms where the steroid injections were made.

Opening statements are expected Tuesday in federal court in Boston.

Chin's attorney has said he'll blame pharmacy co-founder Barry Cadden. Cadden was acquitted of second-degree murder but was convicted of conspiracy and fraud. He tearfully apologized to victims as he was sentenced in June to nine years in prison.

In September 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began investigating an outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections in patients who had received steroid injections made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham. About half of those were sickened with a rare fungal form of meningitis, while the rest with joint or spinal infections. Indiana, Michigan and Tennessee were hardest hit.

In Michigan, more than 300 patients at four separate facilities were impacted; At least two dozen Michigan residents died from the outbreak.

After the outbreak, regulators found multiple potential sources of contamination, including standing water, mold and bacteria in the air and on workers' gloved fingertips. The facility filed for bankruptcy after it was hit with hundreds of lawsuits from victims or their estates. It also reached a $200 million civil settlement with victims and their families.

© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.