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Review of How to Fix a Drug Scandal

Rating *****

Sonja Farak

This four-part Netflix docuseries tells the story of two crime lab technicians who, for different reasons, indirectly caused the dismissal of some 35,000 drug-related criminal cases in Massachusets. Some of the other topics covered include prosecutorial misconduct, sentencing disparity, and judicial incompetence.

The two lab technicians at the center of this story are Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan. They worked at different labs. Both made poor decisions that tainted their work in the lab, resulting in their test results being unreliable. In Annie Dookhan’s case, she falsified test results to increase her output. In Sonja Farak’s case, she conducted a majority of her tests under the influence of the very drugs she was testing.

The real heroes are the defense lawyers who went above and beyond in their search for the truth. Lawyers Jared Olanoff, Matt Segal, and Luke Ryan show what good lawyers can accomplish when given the resources, which in this case were provided by the ACLU.

Of the thousands of drug cases that were affected by the drug lab scandal, the one that stood out for me was the case of Ronaldo Penate. Police arrested Ronaldo for buying a $20 bag of heroin from an undercover officer. His attorney was Luke Ryan. Luke tried to get the case thrown out because the person who did the drug testing in Ronaldo’s case was Sonja Farak, who at the time was under indictment for possible tampering of evidence. It should have been a no brainer. But the prosecuting attorney didn’t throw the case out. And when Ronaldo turned down a plea deal that would have resulted in a three-year prison sentence, Luke had to go to trial without having Farak’s misdeeds presented to the jury. Ronaldo lost and received a seven-year prison sentence. Yet when Sonja ultimately pleaded guilty to her drug use, she received an eighteen-month sentence. Where is the fairness in those sentences?

The only issue I had with the series was the way the filmmakers and the lawyers painted those thirty-five thousand drug cases as wrongful convictions. It may be true that the majority of those cases depended on unreliable drug tests, but I’m also willing to bet that there were likely zero cases where an innocent person received a conviction due to a tainted drug test. A person released from jail or prison because of a technicality doesn’t suddenly become innocent. Sonja couldn’t have gotten high if the drugs weren’t real.

The series relies on reenactments, especially for Sonja Farak’s testimony. The actress who portrayed Sonja, Shannon O’Neill, deserves credit for her portrayal.

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Review of Tiger King

Review of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
Rating *****

Joe Exotic

Joe Exotic wanted to be famous. The self-absorbed owner of the private zoo Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park had grandiose dreams. One day the whole world would know his name. He ran for president. After getting nowhere in that effort, he ran for Governor of Oklahoma. He managed to convince nearly 20% of Oklahomans to vote for him. Today, Joe Exotic has finally achieved his dream. Except he isn’t in a position to enjoy it. Instead, he sits in an Oklahoma prison serving a twenty-two-year prison sentence for his involvement in a murder-for-hire-plot. How he got there is the subject of the seven-episode Netflix docuseries.

Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joe Maldonado-Passage, is guilty of the crime of selling tiger cubs. Whether or not he is guilty of a murder-for-hire plot is another question. My personal opinion is that he was setup.

To say that this docuseries has an abundance of colorful characters is an understatement. It takes a unique personality to raise exotic animals. A full-grown tiger is not a pet. It’s also not cheap. The cost to raise one of these animals can range from $3,000 to $10,000 a year. Joe cut down his costs by using donated expired meat from Walmart. At his peak, Joe had 227 tigers. Joe generated money through donations and visitors to his animal park. He also made money selling tiger cubs to individuals and other animal parks, even though it’s illegal to do so. Joe also took the animals on the road where he would display them at malls. He would let people get selfies with tigers and then sell them the photographs.

Carole Baskin

The owner of another animal park, Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue in Florida, made it her mission to shut Joe down. She called malls to let them know that what Joe was doing was illegal. She reported Joe to animal abuse organizations. The fines and loss of income led to a longstanding feud between Joe and Carole.

The animosity Joe had toward Carole Baskin manifested itself into alarming social media posts, videos, and outright threats of physical violence. Those social media posts hurt Joe later at his trial. Authorities took Joe’s verbal threats seriously after talking to informants with questionable motives. To get a conviction, however, there had to be more than just verbal threats. There had to be a payment to a hitman. At this point, I believe entrapment was involved. The hitman wasn’t credible. He testified under oath that he was in Florida, where Carole lived. Yet there is no evidence of that. The evidence indicates that he never went to Florida. The supposed cash payment is equally murky. Joe testified that he gave Allen, the supposed hitman, $3,000 at the direction of Jeff Lowe, one of the informants. Jeff had his reasons for cooperating with authorities. Taking over Joe’s animal park was one strong motivator. Avoiding criminal charges was another.

Lost in all the chaos are the animals. There’s no question that all of the players in this bizarre world had good intentions at the start. As things started to collapse around Joe, greed and self-preservation took over. There’s one scene toward the end involving two chimpanzees. The two chimps lived in adjacent cages for ten years. Joe eventually sold the two chimps to another facility, one with larger enclosures that allowed the chimps more freedom. When the two chimps encountered each other, they hugged. It’s a powerful scene. The fact that Joe is now the one in a cage is not lost on the viewer.

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Review of the Netflix Docuseries The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

Rating *****

An eight-year-old boy dies from suspicious circumstances. Who is responsible? The mother and her boyfriend? Social workers, who failed to do the proper follow-ups? Police officers, who did a cursory investigation when alerted to possible child abuse? Those are some of the questions dealt with in this excellent six-episode docuseries.

As you come to find out in the last episode, what happened to Gabriel is not an isolated incident. But don’t let that discourage you from taking a deep dive into this particular case. There’s a lot to learn from Gabriel’s short life.

The title of the series refers to the criminal trials that came as a result of Gabriel’s death. At first, I was frustrated with the way the filmmakers jumped forward and backward while covering the trials. The reason for this becomes evident in the last episode. Along the way, we meet the people who cared for Gabriel in his first seven years.

Gabriel’s mother didn’t want the pregnancy nor the child. The father, who was incarcerated, was unable to care for Gabriel. Relatives offered to care for the baby. A gay uncle and his partner took care of Gabriel the first few years. Homophobia among family members and the deportation of the Uncle’s partner put an end to that loving relationship. The grandmother took over and also provided a safe environment.

Gabriel’s spent the last year of his life under the care of his mother, Pearl, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre. I’ve had stress in my life, but I can’t imagine the amount of stress Gabriel endured that last year. There were beatings, verbal abuse, physical abuse, cigarette burns, and even shots in the face from a BB gun. Different people saw the bruises and cigarette burns, and the missing teeth. These people reported what they saw. But somehow, no one took the necessary steps to investigate the claims more thoroughly. Gabriel fell through the cracks.

In my opinion, Gabriel’s mother was the one person most responsible for his death. Isauro caused the injuries that led to Gabriel’s death, but I don’t believe he would have done what he did without the participation of the mother. So, what was the incident that triggered the final beating? Gabriel was playing with his sister, an act Pearl and Isauro saw as reinforcing his gay tendencies.

At least with this docuseries, Gabriel has left a mark in this world. Don’t miss this one. See it on Netflix.

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Review of the Netflix Docuseries The Pharmacist

Review of The Pharmacist Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst Rating *****

Ever since Making a Murderer started streaming on Netflix back in 2015, I’ve been a fan of docuseries. If you go to the sitemap page on this site and choose docuseries under categories, you’ll find an extensive list of excellent docuseries to stream. You can now add The Pharmacist to this list.

The Pharmacist is a four-episode docuseries available on Netflix. The innocuous title belies the seriousness of the subject matter. The first two episodes deal with a father’s search for his son’s killer. Dan Schneider’s son Danny is murdered while out trying to score drugs in a poor section of New Orleans. When the police fail to do a proper investigation, Dan sets out on his own to find the killer. Against all odds, Dan’s efforts are successful. You might expect that to be the end of this one-man crusade to right a wrong, but Dan is just getting started. He soon finds himself at the epicenter of the nascent opioid epidemic.

OxyContin, Heroin in a pill

Working as a pharmacist, Dan starts noticing an alarming trend regarding prescriptions for OxyContin. He sees that over 98% of the prescriptions are coming from the same doctor. He sees similarities to his son in the young people who hand him prescriptions that seem out of line with their age and weight. Dan sets out to learn more about this doctor and her practice. What he uncovers is a burgeoning pill mill. Dan starts keeping track of individuals who come to him for their OxyContin pills. He secretly records them. He begins building a case against Dr. Jacqueline Clegett.

Dan reaches out to the FBI and the DEA to warn them of the dangers he has uncovered. The authorities, however, seem reluctant to do anything. Unbeknownst to Dan, the DEA is aware of the growing problem with Dr. Clegett, but the district attorney’s office refuses to prosecute. While the DEA and the district attorney’s office bicker over the seriousness of the problem, overdose deaths in New Orleans continue to rise. It’s not only frustrating to Dan but the viewer as well.

The opioid epidemic started in Republican-controlled states where opposition to regulations allowed pill mills to proliferate. Florida, under Governor Rick Scott, was adamantly against regulating the industry. Instead, they went after the users of the opioids, sending them to prison in record numbers. Meanwhile, companies like Purdue and the Sackler family made billions as legalized drug dealers. You can read more about this in the book American Pain. It took nearly a decade, and thousands of overdose deaths, before sensible prescription monitoring regulations were put into place.

Eventually, Dan Schneider helped put an end to Dr. Jacqueline Clegett’s business. He is an example of what one determined individual can accomplish. Once the cost of addiction treatment and emergency room visits started to overwhelm entire states, states attorney finally started going after the sources of the problem like Purdue Pharma rather than individual users. Unfortunately, their efforts were too little too late. The Sackler family shifted billions to overseas accounts and then filed for bankruptcy, leaving states to deal with the damage caused by their lack of oversight.

The filmmakers were lucky to stumble upon Dan Schneider. Not only was Dan a passionate advocate against injustice, he was meticulous in documenting all that he uncovered, which included documents, video, and recorded audio. On top of that, he served as the central narrator throughout.

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My 2020 Oscar Picks

For the past several weeks I’ve asked a lot of people about the Oscars. Which film do you think will win? What was your favorite documentary? In almost every case the person I’ve asked hadn’t seen any of the nominated films. I don’t go to the movies anymore was a typical answer. I wait for them to come out on Netflix was another typical response. Okay, many of the nominated films are available on Netflix or Amazon Prime. So what gives?

There is a quote from George R. Martin that sums up this sad state of affairs. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” The same goes for films. If you only go to the movies to see the latest super hero film, you’re missing out.

Here are my picks for this year’s Oscars.

Best Picture:

Ford vs. Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
1917
Parasite

Winner – 1917

Best Director:

Bong Joon Ho – Parasite
Sam Mendez – 1917
Todd Phillips – Joker
Martin Scorsese – The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Winner – Sam Mendez, 1917

Adapted Screenplay:

The Irishman – Steven Zailian
Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi
Joker – Todd Phillips and Scott Silver
Little Women – Greta Gerwig
The Two Popes – Anthony McCarten

Winner – Taika Waititi

Best Original Screenplay:

1917 – Sam Mendez and Kristy Wilson-Cairns
Knives Out – Rian Johnson
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
Parasite – Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin-won

Winner – Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story

Best Documentary:

American Factory
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland

Winner – The Edge of Democracy

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My Pick for best documentary 2019

I’ve been able to watch four of the five Oscar-nominated documentaries. I’ll update this post if I happen to get a chance to see the fifth nominated documentary before this weekend.

American Factory

This film is about a Chinese automotive glass company called Fuyao and their efforts to build and run a factory here in the US. It’s also a window into the cultural differences between China and the US. Read my review here. (Netflix)

The Edge of Democracy

This timely film looks behind the scenes of Brazil’s politics the past few years, which included the imprisonment of one former president and the impeachment of another. In some ways, it is a warning of where things are headed here in the US. The film exposes the negative effect of dark money into politics and the need for campaign finance reform. I remember at the time when reading about some of the events described here that it was all about corruption. I learned it had more to do with the backstabbing and corruption of the people bringing the charges. (Amazon Prime)

For Sama

For Sama is a brutally honest look at what it was like to live in Aleppo during the bombings by Syrian and Russian forces. The film graphically shows what happens under dictatorial leadership. In between moments of laughter and happiness, there is death and destruction.

It is a sad commentary when small children know more about cluster bombs than about fairytales. (Amazon Prime)

Honeyland

This film looks at the life of a woman whose primary source of income is the honey she sells from a collection of hives. It covers a wide range of tangential subjects such as healthcare, poverty, race, class, and greed. It’s hard to believe that there are people still living without running water and electricity. Tossed into this mix of isolation, struggle, and despair are the neighbors from hell. (Amazon Prime Rental)

The Cave

This film tells the story of a hospital in Syria. Unfortunately, it is not available for rent. I haven’t been able to catch this one.

Before I get to my pick for the Oscar in the documentary category, I suggest you take a look at my best of 2019 post. There are several documentary films that I feel should have been nominated. My favorite from last year was the film The Devil We Know. Additionally, I feel that there needs to be a separate category for documentary series.

My pick to win the Oscar is The Edge of Democracy.