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Former FDA chief gets probation over stocks

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published February 28, 2007

WASHINGTON - A judge on Tuesday sentenced former Food and Drug Administration chief Lester Crawford to three years' supervised probation with fines of roughly $90,000 for lying about stocks he owned in companies regulated by his agency.

Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson's sentence spares Crawford jail time but is stiffer than the punishment of $50,000 proposed by federal prosecutors and his defense attorney.

Robinson also ordered Crawford to perform 50 hours of community service and to pay the costs of his supervised probation.

Crawford, 69, pleaded guilty in October to charges of having a conflict of interest and false reporting of information about stocks that he and his wife owned. Both are misdemeanors, and each carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

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, prosecutors said.

"I want to assure you that I accept responsibility for what I've done," Crawford told Robinson during the hearing. "I should've communicated better with the people helping me" on the financial forms.

Defense attorney Barbara Van Gelder had argued that Crawford shouldn't be punished too harshly since there was no evidence he had schemed to defraud or misuse his office for personal gain.

[Last modified February 28, 2007, 01:34:59]