Former F.D.A. Chief Is Charged With Conflict

[napi21]

Ahh yes, yet another Oub scandal!

Lester M. Crawford, former chief of the Food and Drug Administration, was charged yesterday with conflict of interest and lying about stock he and his wife owned in companies the agency regulates.

Dr. Crawford, who resigned abruptly in September 2005, just two months after his nomination had been approved by the Senate, is expected to plead guilty in federal court in Washington today, said his lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder.

Senior employees of the food and drug agency are prohibited from owning shares in companies the agency regulates, and when Dr. Crawford became a deputy commissioner in 2002, the government’s charging document says, ethics officials at the Department of Health and Human Services told him that he and his wife would have to sell stock in a dozen regulated companies. Those companies included several large pharmaceutical and medical device concerns, among them Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Medtronic and Boston Scientific.


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/washington/17fda.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Bernie Ward was going ballistic on his show last night about this! He said "I know I'm not thebrightest bulbin the string on a lot of things, but even I know, when you're hiring someone as a regulator, the first thing you ask is do you own stock in any of the companies you will be responsible for regulating?"

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Just how many of Bush's nominations have ended up like this?

[napi21]

3. I don't know, but there have been many!

There are juset so many scandals, charges, investigations, etc. going on, I have completely lost track!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

2. Cheney set the precedent by refusing to cut $$ ties with Halliburton.