Federal researcher guilty in fee conflict

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BALTIMORE (AP) -- A government researcher pleaded guilty yesterday to misdemeanor conflict of interest for taking $285,000 in consulting fees from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. for work that improperly overlapped his official duties.

Dr. Trey Sunderland, of Chevy Chase, a prominent Alzheimer's expert who ran a geriatric research unit at the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Dr. Sunderland, 55, failed to get NIH approval for the consulting work that "directly related" to his federal research and did not properly report the fees and travel expenses from New York-based Pfizer, prosecutors said in court filings.

"Dr. Sunderland violated the fundamental rule that government employees cannot accept payment from interested private parties without the permission of their supervisors," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said.

The conflict began in 1998 when Dr. Sunderland was making arrangements for NIH to work with Pfizer on an Alzheimer's project. At the same time, he began negotiations to be a paid consultant on the same project, prosecutors said. Government scientists are not allowed to take money for their official collaborations with private companies.

The researcher shared thousands of NIH human tissue samples with Pfizer during the time he was paid as a private consultant, prosecutors said.

Dr. Sunderland's case stemmed from a two-year ethics controversy at NIH that prompted the nation's premier medical agency to issue new rules on consulting and end such relationships that enrich its scientists. Scientists recently told NIH that the new rules are so strict that many are considering leaving the agency.

The agreement with federal prosecutors calls for two years supervised probation, 400 hours of community service, forfeiture of $300,000, and a fine yet to be determined by the judge. Sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 22.