By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — A Justice Department official is arguing that an independent trustee must be chosen to oversee the bankruptcy case of a Massachusetts pharmacy linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak.

U.S. Trustee William Harrington says in a filing Wednesday that an accountant chosen by the New England Compounding Center to lead it through Chapter 11 proceedings is “hopelessly conflicted.”

He says that’s because Keith Lowey was appointed by NECC’s board and the board has the power to fire him at any time.

Harrington also argued the company’s “gross mismanagement” meant an independent trustee was needed to protect the interests of the NECC’s creditors.

Messages requesting comment were left at Lowey’s office and with an NECC spokesman.

A tainted steroid made by the NECC has been linked to a fungal meningitis outbreak that has killed 40.