Ex-FDA chief faces sentencing Tuesday

26 Feb 2007 // A judge wants attorneys to explain why former FDA chief Lester Crawford shouldn't receive stiffer punishment than a $50,000 fine and probation for lying about stocks he owned in companies regulated by his agency.

Crawford was to be sentenced Tuesday. His defense attorney and federal prosecutors worked out a deal that would spare jail time for the former head of the Food and Drug Administration.

However, Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson wants to know why more stringent federal sentencing guidelines were not applied.

"Dr. Crawford has agreed to take responsibility for his actions," his lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, wrote in court filings earlier this month. She noted that prosecutors acknowledged there was no evidence that Crawford had schemed to defraud or misuse his office for personal gain.

"The stigma of his conviction will follow him the rest of his life," Gelder wrote.

Crawford pleaded guilty last October to charges of having a conflict of interest and false reporting of information about stocks that he and his wife owned. Beginning in 2002, Crawford filed seven incorrect financial reports with a government ethics office and Congress.

Crawford did, however, pay taxes on the dividends and the options he exercised, according to prosecutors.

The two charges — conflict of interest and false reporting — are misdemeanors and each carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

In filings, prosecutors say the proposed $50,000 fine was appropriate. They noted it would exceed the roughly $39,000 that Crawford and his wife, Cathy, made from exercising options and in dividends from illegally held stocks in food, beverage and medical companies, which included Embrex Inc. and Pepsico Inc.

Crawford also was cooperative once prosecutors began their criminal investigation in late 2005, said assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Sklamberg.

Crawford, a veterinarian and food-safety expert, abruptly resigned from the FDA in September 2005 but gave no reason for leaving. He had held the job for two months, following his confirmation by the Senate.