Probe Finds NIH Official Violated Government Regulations

And in March, Schwartz -- who had retained his faculty status at Duke, a few miles from the institute's headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C. -- separated himself from the university.

"There is now a clear, bright line" between Schwartz's outside activities, lab responsibilities and responsibilities as NIEHS director, Kington said.

Schwartz said he earned about $150,000 from asbestos-related expert testimony and clinical exams from mid-2005 through fiscal 2006. But Schwartz emphasized that he had contracted with the law firm before coming to NIH.

Government ethics officials, however, were clearly concerned that lawyers could exploit the clout that came with Schwartz's new position at NIH.

"More than any other type of outside activity (writing, speaking, even consulting), the expert witness can lead to trading on the reputation of the NIH . . . it's almost inevitable," an ethics adviser wrote in an e-mail regarding Schwartz.

Kington e-mailed Schwartz that lawyers in HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt's office "had major concerns about your doing these activities." He continued, "I pushed back, and they eventually deferred to my call."

The internal NIH review found that Schwartz wrongly used almost $2,000 in government funds to frame his high school diploma and various photographs for his office, and for expenses relating to a limousine service. The report did acknowledge that his staff gave him bad advice on those matters.

Schwartz said he reimbursed the government, has stopped giving expert testimony and is committed to strengthening the institute.

"I really have the best interests of people who are being exposed and who are at risk of environmental diseases," he said, mentioning several landmark public health projects the institute is sponsoring, including one involving asthma in residents of New Orleans.

But congressional distrust remains strong. Last Thursday, Sen. Chuck E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking minority member of the Finance Committee, which has been investigating Schwartz for months, sent an eight-page letter to NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni with a host of new questions to be answered by July 10.

"The National Institutes of Health conducts important research for the public good, and individuals who hold high-level positions there ought to understand that they hold the public trust and demonstrate respect for it with their actions," Grassley said.

In the House, Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) have asked Schwartz for documents, citing "multiple sources [who] have contacted the Committee to raise additional questions about your conduct as Director of NIEHS."

Schwartz, an expert in environmentally related lung diseases, was hired in 2005 just three months after Zerhouni imposed strict new conflict-of-interest rules in the aftermath of a scandal involving agency scientists who failed to disclose lucrative consulting deals with pharmaceutical companies.

In interviews this week, various current and former NIEHS employees called Schwartz "brilliant" and an "excellent scientist" but also "patriarchal," and "footloose and fancy-free with the rules."

Since his arrival, three top institute officials have left, and many employees have expressed dismay at Schwartz's leadership.

"Morale is just horrible," one said speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.