2 charged in 76-death outbreak at care facility

Two former leaders of a Massachusetts veterans’ home were indicted on charges of criminal neglect in connection to a coronavirus outbreak that contributed to the deaths of at least 76 residents, the state’s attorney general said Friday.

Bennett Walsh, 50, and Dr. David Clinton, 71, were indicted Thursday by a state grand jury on charges related to their work at the facility, the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Mass. Walsh had been the superintendent and Clinton the medical director.

“We believe this is the first criminal case in the country brought against those involved in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the state attorney general, Maura Healey, said at a news conference Friday. The men face felony charges and if convicted they could face years or even decades in prison, she added.

Each man was indicted on five counts for two charges; the specific charges were for caretakers who “wantonly or recklessly” permit or cause bodily injury and abuse, neglect or mistreatment of an older or disabled person. The criminalneglect charge carries a termof up to three years, and the serious bodily injury charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years for each count, Healey said.

Walsh’s lawyer, Tracy A. Miner, said in an email that he planned to plead not guilty.

“It is unfortunate that the attorney general is blaming the effects of a deadly virus that our state and federal governments have not been able to stop on Bennett Walsh,” she said.

A lawyer for Clinton could not be reached for comment.

Investigators focused on the events of late March, when staff memberscombinedtwodementia wards with infected veterans and healthy residents.

The office said that Walsh and Clinton, who were not taken into custody, would be arraigned but did not specify a date.

Clinton resigned after the release of the investigators’ report, and Walsh was placed on administrative leave on March 30.