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Couple Pleads Guilty In NECC Deadly Meningitis Outbreak Probe

BOSTON (CBS/AP) - A couple from Dedham pleaded guilty Friday afternoon in the federal investigation of a Framingham compounding pharmacy at the center of a deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak.

Carla Conigliaro, 53, and her husband Douglas, 55, were majority shareholders at the now-shuttered New England Compounding Center.

It created a national uproar in 2012--the NECC was accused of producing contaminated injectable steroids that killed 64 people in seven states and sickened hundreds more.

The couple wasn't charged with the outbreak, but with trying to hide assets when the company went bankrupt. They were arrested in December 2014.

The Conigliaros pleaded guilty Friday to illegally withdrawing cash from their bank accounts following the outbreak. Prosecutors said they withdrew the money "in a manner intended to defeat financial reporting requirements."

Over a period of months, Douglas Conigliaro withdrew about $120,000 in a series of 92 transactions; his wife withdrew some $4600 in eleven transactions.

Federal investigators later froze about $16.8 million in accounts connected to the Conigliaros.

They were among 14 former employees charged in connection with the outbreak after a two-year investigation. The most serious charges are leveled against company president Barry Cadden and head pharmacist Glenn Chin, facing attempted murder and racketeering and scheduled to go on trial in January.

The government won't say if the Conigliaros' plea deal, which may result in no jail time, means they might be helping the prosecution. They said that, under the plea deal, Carla would be placed under probation, while Douglas would face no jail time.

Sentencing in the case is scheduled for November 1.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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