Messy LI Crime Lab Fallout Now Includes Missing Marijuana

Gothamist LLC, gothamist, gothamist.com
BYLINE: Christopher Robbins,
Link to Article

Long Island, NY

AP

Marijuana bound for a Pennsylvania crime lab to be tested in a Long Island drug case mysteriously disappeared from the FedEx truck it was on, making any charges "completely unprovable." The drugs were being shipped to Pennsylvania to be tested after a Nassau County crime lab was shut down in February for widespread procedural violations. An official tells CBS, "It just calls into question the propriety of dealing with a common carrier, like FedEx, for purposes of delivering evidence." Authorities say that the marijuana was removed from the shipping box, and then the box was resealed. No word on whether the truck's massive shipment of Funyuns and six cases of Mondo Coolers were also missing.

Missing evidence is only part of the fallout that has accompanied the Mineola drug lab fiasco. Recently a drunk driving case was voided based on shoddy lab work done, and virtually every case involving the lab since 2007 may be tossed because as one lawyer tells the Times, "When you convict somebody based on tainted evidence, that conviction generally should not and will not stand." Indeed, even if just the marijuana was taken from the FedEx truck, "It raises a broader issue about the credibility of the evidence in those other cases that were being transported along with the marijuana," the official says.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
International Association for Property and Evidence
"Law Enforcement Serving the Needs of Law Enforcement"
www.IAPE.org