The sad saga continued in a federal courtroom in Newark, NJ, as a former quality control manager at Able Laboratories testified that top execs pressured him into falsifying records to cover up internal tests that found some of the company’s generic drugs were defective.

Dilip Patel, who supervised a team of chemists charged with en suring drugs were safe before they hit the market, admitted in federal district court in Newark, NJ, yesterday that he participated in the scheme to save his job.

The chemist said after he succumbed to the pressure, the Able ceo praised him, saying, “He’s my man.” Patel, 44, pleaded guilty before a federal judge to conspiracy to distribute misbranded or adulterated drugs. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“The conduct that Patel and others admitted to is nothing short of reprehensible. This fraud bespeaks greed of shocking proportions,” says Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kirsch.

Patel is the fifth Able Labs official to plead guilty. Like others before him, he implicated the former ceo, Dhananjay Wadekar, referring to him by title but not name. Wadekar has not been charged. Kirsch says the investigation is “ac tive and ongoing.” A woman who answered the telephone at Wadekar’s Massachu setts home said he had no comment.

Able, a one-time Wall Street darling, imploded in May 2005, leaving shareholders with more than $100 million in worthless stock certificates. The company’s execs and directors sold $9.5 million worth of stock in the two years be fore it collapsed.

Under questioning by Kirsch, Patel said he had expressed reservations about the scheme, but was told by a high-level executive — identified only by the initials “K.H.” in court — that he would be fired if he didn’t go along. Bankruptcy records show the only high-level executive with those initials was Kamlesh Haribhakti, the former vice president of generic formulations.

Able used altered data to pass 11 on-site inspections by the FDA before a company whistle-blower alerted the agency. Wadekar later resigned, and a voluntary shutdown of production, mass layoffs and the recall of the company’s entire product line followed. Able’s assets were sold off last year.

Further reading…
The Star-Ledger of New Jersey[tags]Able Laboratories[/tags]