Greedy Trial Lawyer
NIH Scientist Receives Pfizer Bucks
Category: The Latest Baddest
Pfizer Inc. apparently provides special compensation for senior government scientists working for the National Institutes of Health. The compensation program has been recognized by federal prosecutors with a conflict of interest award in the name of one recipient, Dr. P. Trey Sunderland III.
Federal scientist admits he's guilty of conflict of interest
BALTIMORE -- A senior government scientist from the National Institutes of Health who took about $300,000 in unauthorized payments from a drug company pleaded guilty Friday to a federal charge that he committed a criminal conflict of interest.The admission by Dr. P. Trey Sunderland III came after years of denials by his attorneys and six months after the scientist had asserted his constitutional right against self-incrimination to a congressional subcommittee.
Sunderland, 55, admitted that he failed to get required authorization for taking $285,000 in consulting fees and $15,000 in expense payments from the drug company Pfizer Inc. from 1998 to 2003. During the same period, he provided Pfizer with spinal-tap samples collected from hundreds of patients as part of a research collaboration approved by the NIH.
After the hearing Friday, U.S. Atty. Rod J. Rosenstein told reporters that Sunderland's actions were a breach of the public trust.
"This case is not about an honest mistake," Rosenstein said. "If a government employee is actually on the payroll of a company that benefits from its dealings with the United States, there's a chance that that employee's financial interest will affect his or her official actions."
Unaddressed at the hearing was how the guilty plea might affect Sunderland's employment.
Let's see if we can come up with a plan to deal with Sunderland's employment. Should he be given a larger staff or a bigger office? How about a longer vacation?
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