Judge Reader to Oversee Tainted Steroid Grand JuryJudge Reader to Oversee Tainted Steroid Grand Jury

4/19/13 - A request by the state attorney general has been granted to empanel a grand jury linked to steroid deaths both locally and across Michigan. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette made the request last month for a criminal investigation into the deaths of at least 16 residents, several of them from Livingston County, from contaminated steroids supplied by a Massachusetts pharmaceutical company. In an order dated today, the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered a multi-county grand jury probe of the New England Compounding Center that will be led by Livingston County Circuit Court Chief Judge David Reader. The panel will have jurisdiction in four counties; Livingston, Genesee, Grand Traverse and Macomb. The 13 member grand jury is expected to meet in Livingston County. Schuette said he sought a grand jury because it can compel testimony under oath, while state investigators don't have that power and that there is probable cause to believe crimes were committed in the four counties - which have private clinics that administered the steroids. The Livingston County location was identified as Michigan Pain Specialists in Brighton. In October, following reports that NECC was responsible for the meningitis outbreak, Schuette suspended the company’s pharmacy license in Michigan, alleging they had been acting as a “drug manufacturer” and not a compounding facility. The company had only been licensed to fill individual prescriptions, but is accused of distributing large amounts of medication to various hospitals and clinics in Michigan. Scheutte says that a prosecutor from the AG’s Criminal Division stands ready to assist the grand jury with its investigation. (JK)