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Former FDA Head............Guilty

Mike

Well-known member
Former FDA head facing charges
Crawford allegedly failed to disclose stock holdings
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
BY ROBERT COHEN
Newhouse News Service
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department yesterday filed a criminal complaint charging the former head of the Food and Drug Administration with conflict of interest and lying about ownership of stocks in companies his agency regulated.

Lester Crawford is scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate today, when, his lawyer said, he will plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts.

The charges represent the latest blow to an agency that has come under increasing criticism for ignoring conflicts of interest, for let ting politics override science, and for being too cozy with the indus tries it regulates.

The compliant alleges that Crawford, 68, failed to disclose $8,000 in income from the exercise of Embrex stock options in 2003, and that he failed to report another $20,000 from the sale of the firm's stock options in 2004. Embrex is an agriculture biotechnology company regulated by FDA.

The government also said Craw ford in 2004 failed to disclose at least $62,000 in stock in Kimberly- Clark, a health and hygiene company. Court papers said Crawford reported to the FDA that the stock had been sold when he and his wife continued to hold the shares.

In addition, the government said Crawford chaired an FDA obesity task force that recommended new labeling for food products at the same time he and his wife held stock more than $25,000 in Sysco, a distributor of snack foods, and more than $25,000 shares in Pepsico, the world's No. 2 soft drink maker.

Crawford "is going to plead guilty to two misdemeanors ... and he is going to admit his financial disclosures had errors and omis sions, mostly with his wife's continued ownership of stocks," Craw ford's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, told the Associated Press.

"At the end of the day, he owned these stocks and he will admit he owned them while he was at the FDA and he will take responsibility for that," said Van Gelder.

She said Crawford was not disputing the government's claims in what she called a plea agreement.

The penalties for making a false financial filing include a prison term of up to one year. The conflict-of-interest charge also includes a possible prison term of up to one year.

The Senate confirmed Crawford as permanent FDA commissioner in July 2005, but he abruptly resigned two months later without explanation. He had served as act ing or deputy FDA commissioner for more than three years during the Bush administration.

Crawford was replaced by Andrew von Eschenbach as the acting FDA commissioner. He has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

Merrill Goozner of the Center for Science in the Public Interest described the charges against Crawford as "another blow to the credibility of the FDA."

"It's a sad commentary when the guy that runs the place is holding stock in companies he is supposed to be regulating," said Goozner. "It sets a bad example for everyone, suggests these kinds of conflicts don't matter and sets the tone that 'we are an industry friendly place.'"

Goozner is among those who have been pressing the FDA to im pose tough standards to eliminate conflicts of interest for scientists and doctors who serve on FDA advisory panels.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), sponsor of legislation to improve drug safety and make other FDA reforms, said the criminal complaint further undermines public confidence in the agency.

Hinchey urged the Department of Health and Human Service Department's inspector general to complete a pending investigation of Crawford because "we must find out what other improper actions he took while leading the FDA, which may not necessarily have been illegal, but were inappropriate or unethical."
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
"....an agency that has come under increasing criticism for ignoring conflicts of interest, for letting politics override science, and for being too cozy with the industries it regulates."

Reminds me of another agency.....
 

Econ101

Well-known member
Too bad its only a misdemeanor. Some real time would have been more justified. It might also curb those kind of actions. This is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. When will our politicians get serious about their peers selling out our government to the highest bidder?
 
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