Pharmacy boss blamed for meningitis outbreak

The co-owner of a pharmacy responsible for the deaths of 76 people was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison after he tearfully apologized to victims who described watching their loved ones die or enduring excruciating physical pain from a 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated steroids.

“I am so sorry for your extraordinary losses,” Barry Cadden said, wiping his eyes. “I am sorry for the whole range of suffering that resulted from my company’s drugs.”

The sentence was far less than more than a dozen victims asked for while making emotional victim impact statements to U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns. Many asked the judge to send the 50-year-old Cadden to prison for the rest of his life.

“His actions have caused my life to be shattered and my family so much pain,” said Rachelle Shuff, of Elkhart, Ind., who received steroid shots for back pain while trying to recover from serious injuries she suffered in a car accident.