In late January, when the case was a month old and had dropped out of the news, I made my move.

City health officials said it was the biggest decrease since 1978, when cases dropped by 19 percent.

The committee said the problems resulted in part from a statewide system that moved too slowly and let cases drop.

One: We can go into that hearing room prepared to fight every inch of the way to get the case dropped.

And the cases associated with blood transfusions dropped 14 percent, from 935 to 808.

In the first groups of those who received it, new cases dropped 90 percent.

But the case soon dropped from the front page and no arrest was recorded.

Six defendants subsequently had their cases dropped and one was found not guilty.

After that, reported cases dropped steadily, falling to just 76 in 2000.

A lack of evidence however saw the case dropped in December of the same year.