Backstory: Best Woodward-and-Bernstein Moment 

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• Diane Sullivan ©️ Seven Days
• Edge Pharma building in Colchester

This "backstory" is a part of a collection of articles that describes some of the obstacles that Seven Days reporters faced while pursuing Vermont news, events and people in 2022.

Among the pantheon of best journalism movies is All the President's Men, the riveting backstory of how the Washington Post broke open the Watergate scandal and ultimately ended Richard Nixon's presidency. The film follows reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, played by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, as they harangue reluctant sources and conduct late-night parking garage rendezvous. It's a superhero flick for nerds.

Journalism is rarely as glamorous, but on occasion we reporters do get a chance to channel our inner Woodward and Bernstein. My latest opportunity came over the summer, as I dug into the downfall of a Colchester drug-compounding company, Edge Pharma.

I stumbled onto the story after finding a federal lawsuit from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration that accused Edge of violating consumer protection laws repeatedly for years leading up to a full-scale recall last December. I wanted to know why it took so long for the FDA to act and why Edge seemed so unable — or unwilling — to improve.

Related A Vermont Drug Company's Failure to Maintain Standards Led to Recalls — and Its Demise

A Vermont Drug Company's Failure to Maintain Standards Led to Recalls — and Its Demise

By Colin Flanders

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I messaged a handful of Edge employees, who, unbeknownst to me, had learned that very day that the company was closing for good. One said they'd pass along the messages to their colleagues. An hour later, my phone began ringing. "I wondered how long it would take for someone to write about this," one man said.

The employees were afraid to use their names out of fear of a lawsuit from the company's owner, Bill Chatoff, who chaired the state's Board of Pharmacy for several years. Not exactly Tricky Dick, but an imposing figure nonetheless.

One former worker agreed to only speak to me in person. We met in a small park near his house. Trees shielded us from a light rain as he recalled instances of how the company leaders pressured him and others to produce more and more.

A few days later, in a bar, I met another source who wanted to share documents without leaving a paper trail. He slid a manila folder and a flash drive across the table just before his burger and second beer arrived.

The waitress asked if I wanted to order anything. I was hungry — it was almost dinnertime — but I declined.

I had a story to write.