Mass. chemist to be arraigned in drug lab scandal

BOSTON (AP) -- A chemist at the center of a testing scandal at a now-closed Massachusetts drug lab faces arraignment on 27 charges, including perjury and tampering with evidence.

Annie Dookhan is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court.

Dookhan was indicted Monday on 17 counts of obstruction of justice, eight counts of tampering with evidence, perjury and pretending to hold a master's degree.

Attorney General Martha Coakley alleges that Dookhan fabricated test results and tampered with drug evidence while she was testing substances in criminal cases.

The scandal has thrown the legal system into chaos. Since the lab Dookhan worked at was shut down in August, judges have released about 200 defendants from prison and put their cases on hold.

Dookhan pleaded not guilty when she was initially arrested on three counts in September.