Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State's former chief medical examiner sentenced

Delaware Public Media

Former Delaware Chief Medical Examiner Richard Callery gets probation for misusing state resources for his private consulting business.

The News Journal reports Callery was sentenced to 11 months probation after pleading no contest last June to two counts of official misconduct. Callery will also repay $100,000 to the state and must surrender his medical license during his punishment.

He faced up to two years in prison.

Callery, formerly one of the state’s highest paid employees, was fired after officials discovered his private consulting business was taking precedent over his official duties.

An internal investigation reported “egregious” and “profound” violations in his conduct, acting as an expert-for-hire in cases in the Mid Atlantic and New England.

Callery was dismissed during an investigation into evidence tampering at the state’s Controlled Substances Lab. Two employees accused of stealing drug evidence and selling it eventually pleaded to lesser charges or had those charges dropped.

The state Medical Examiner’s office was moved into The Department of Safety and Homeland Security in the wake of scandal.

Tom Byrne has been a fixture covering news in Delaware for three decades. He joined Delaware Public Media in 2010 as our first news director and has guided the news team ever since. When he's not covering the news, he can be found reading history or pursuing his love of all things athletic.
Related Content