NIH Researcher Cashes In

Officials at the National Institutes of Health say Dr. Thomas J. Walsh, a senior researcher, engaged in "serious misconduct" by failing to report more than $100,000 in income from unauthorized arrangements with drug companies, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. But so far, the agency hasn't taken any disciplinary action against him, because officials don't think they can. Walsh is a member of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. An NIH internal report on Walsh said that the agency's human resources office had concluded that "if he were a civilian employee, his actions would lead to a recommendation for his proposed removal."