DETROIT – Five years ago, 23 Michiganders died after receiving tainted steroid shots in one of the worst pharmaceutical disasters in U.S. history.
On Monday, the man who owned the company that made the bad drugs goes before a federal judge for sentencing.
Penny Laperriere's last memories of her husband remain fresh five years on.
"When I went into that room and saw him laying there, I ... lost it and it was so painful," Laperriere said.
Two weeks before, Lyn Laperriere, a super stock drag racing champion and GM skilled tradesman, received his annual injection for bulging discs. Balance trouble and crushing headaches sent him to a hospital, where he died of fungal meningitis.
A jury found Barry Cadden, former CEO of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center near Boston, guilty of wire fraud and racketeering.
Lyn Laperriere would "be alive if it weren't for him," Penny Laperriere said.
The jury did not find Cadden guilty of murder.
"I'm telling him he destroyed my family and Lyn's family," Penny Laperriere said.
Penny Laperriere will speak at Cadden's sentencing Monday.
"He needs to go to jail and pay for what he did, then there will be some just rewards for Lyn's dying," Penny Laperriere said. "I guess he needs to pay for what he did 'cause he knew what he was doing was wrong."
Prosecutors are asking for 35 years in prison.
"He never said he was sorry," Penny Laperriere said. "I just think he thinks he could get away with it."
Penny Laperriere said she's had to rebuild her life. She's bonded with many of the families whose loved ones either were severely injured or died in the NECC nightmare.
She hopes the judge goes with the prosecution's request for 35 years so he can sit and ponder his actions.