[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-29384]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 29, 1994]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 92N-0423]

 

Walter S. Kletch; Denial of Hearing; Final Debarment Order

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is denying Mr. Walter 
S. Kletch's request for a hearing and is issuing a final order under 
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) permanently 
debarring Mr. Walter S. Kletch, 210 East Juniper Ave., Sterling, VA 
20164, from providing services in any capacity to a person with an 
approved or pending drug application. The Interim Deputy Commissioner 
bases this order on her finding that Mr. Kletch was convicted of a 
felony under Federal law for conduct relating to the development or 
approval, including the process for development or approval, of a drug 
product, and relating to the regulation of a drug product under the 
act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 29, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Application for termination of debarment to the Dockets 
Management Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 12420 
Parklawn Dr., rm. 1-23, Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary E. Catchings, Center for Drug 
Evaluation and Research (HFD-366), Food and Drug Administration, 7500 
Standish Pl., Rockville, MD 20855, 301-594-2041.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Mr. Walter S. Kletch, a former review chemist in FDA's Division of 
Generic Drugs (public official), pled guilty and was sentenced on 
September 22, 1989, for receiving an unlawful gratuity, a felony 
offense under 18 U.S.C. 201(c)(1)(B). The basis for this conviction was 
Mr. Kletch's receipt of two $500 gift certificates (which he converted 
to cash) from the president of a pharmaceutical firm. In his official 
capacity as a review chemist, Mr. Kletch was involved in the regulation 
of the firm's drug products and was responsible for reviewing the 
firm's applications to determine whether they met certain statutory 
standards for approval.
    In a certified letter received by Mr. Kletch on December 16, 1992, 
the Deputy Commissioner for Operations offered Mr. Kletch an 
opportunity for a hearing on the agency's proposal to issue an order 
under section 306(a) of the act (21 U.S.C. 335a(a)) (the mandatory 
debarment provisions) debarring Mr. Kletch from providing services in 
any capacity to a person that has an approved or pending drug product 
application. FDA based the proposal to debar Mr. Kletch on its finding 
that he was convicted of a felony under Federal law for conduct 
relating to the development, approval, and regulation of the 
pharmaceutical firm's drug products.
    The certified letter also informed Mr. Kletch that his request for 
a hearing could not rest upon mere allegations or denials but must 
present specific facts showing that there was a genuine and substantial 
issue of fact requiring a hearing. The letter also notified Mr. Kletch 
that if it conclusively appeared from the face of the information and 
factual analyses in his request for a hearing that there was no genuine 
and substantial issue of fact which precluded the order of debarment, 
FDA would enter summary judgment against him and deny his request for a 
hearing.
    In a letter dated January 8, 1993, Mr. Kletch requested a hearing, 
and in a letter dated February 26, 1993, Mr. Kletch submitted arguments 
to support his hearing request. In his request for a hearing, Mr. 
Kletch acknowledged that he was convicted of a felony under Federal law 
as alleged by FDA. However, Mr. Kletch argued that FDA's findings based 
on that conviction are incorrect and that the agency's proposal to 
debar him is unconstitutional.
    The Interim Deputy Commissioner has considered Mr. Kletch's 
arguments and concludes that they are unpersuasive and fail to raise a 
genuine and substantial issue of fact requiring a hearing. Moreover, 
the constitutional arguments that Mr. Kletch presents do not create a 
basis for a hearing (see 21 CFR 12.24(b)(1)). Mr. Kletch's arguments 
are discussed below.

II. Arguments in Support of a Hearing

    Mr. Kletch contends that FDA's findings are not supported by the 
evidence because the factual predicate for mandatory permanent 
debarment is not met in this case. Acknowledging that he was convicted 
for receiving an illegal gratuity while employed as a review chemist at 
FDA, Mr. Kletch claims that he received the gratuity from the president 
of a pharmaceutical firm because of their social relationship. Mr. 
Kletch denies taking any action that was inconsistent with agency 
policy because of the gratuity. Thus, he claims the facts do not 
support mandatory permanent debarment but rather permissive debarment.
    This argument is unconvincing and fails to raise a genuine and 
substantial issue of fact for two reasons. First, as a matter of law, 
Mr. Kletch's conviction was for conduct relating to the development, 
approval, and regulation of a drug product. Mr. Kletch, an FDA review 
chemist, pled guilty to and was convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. 
201(c)(1)(B) for receiving and accepting two $500 gift certificates 
(which he exchanged for cash) from a president of a pharmaceutical 
firm.
    To be convicted under 18 U.S.C. 201(c)(1)(B), a public official 
must, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of 
one's duties as a public official, receive and accept anything of value 
personally for or because of any official act performed or to be 
performed by such official. ``Official act'' is defined by 18 U.S.C. 
201(a)(3) as ``any decision or action on any question, matter, cause, 
suit, proceeding or controversy, which may at any time be pending, or 
which may by law be brought before any public official, in such 
official's official capacity, or in such official's place of trust or 
profit.'' Thus, as a matter of law, Mr. Kletch's conviction establishes 
that his receipt of the gratuity was for, and because of, official acts 
that he had performed and was to perform.
    As a review chemist within FDA's Division of Generic Drugs, Mr. 
Kletch's sole responsibilities were the review of applications 
submitted by pharmaceutical manufacturers seeking FDA's approval to 
market their products to the public, and the general regulation of 
drugs. Therefore, Mr. Kletch's conviction under 18 U.S.C. 201(c)(1)(B) 
establishes that his felony conviction was for conduct relating to the 
development and approval, including the process for development and 
approval, of a drug product, and for conduct relating to the regulation 
of a drug product. For this reason, the mandatory permanent debarment 
provisions (section 306(a)(2)) of the act apply to Mr. Kletch's receipt 
of the illegal gratuity, and not the permissive debarment provisions as 
Mr. Kletch alleges. Mr. Kletch would be considered a candidate for 
permissive debarment only if FDA finds that the conduct giving rise to 
the conviction did not relate to the development or approval or the 
regulation of any drug product. As discussed above, the conduct 
required for the conviction necessarily involved the approval and 
regulation of generic drugs.
    Second, having admitted and been convicted of receiving an illegal 
gratuity in a Federal criminal proceeding, Mr. Kletch is now estopped 
from attempting to relitigate the issue in an administrative forum. Mr. 
Kletch had sufficient opportunity to contest the Government's 
allegations during the criminal proceedings prior to his conviction. 
Yet, Mr. Kletch admitted in those proceedings that he was, in fact, 
guilty of receiving an unlawful gratuity, a crime relating to the 
performance of his official duties. Thus, Mr. Kletch is collaterally 
estopped from arguing that he did not receive the gratuity ``for or 
because of any official act performed or to be performed.''
    Mr. Kletch also argues that the ex post facto clause of the U.S. 
Constitution prohibits application of section 306(a)(2) of the act to 
him because this section was not in effect at the time of Mr. Kletch's 
criminal conduct. With the enactment of the Generic Drug Enforcement 
Act (GDEA) on May 13, 1992, Congress amended the act to include section 
306(a)(2), whereas he was convicted on September 22, 1989.
    An ex post facto law is one that reaches back to punish acts which 
occurred before enactment of the law or that adds a new punishment to 
one that was in effect when the crime was committed (Ex Parte Garland, 
4 Wall. 333, 377, 18 L. Ed. 366 (1866); Collins v. Youngblood, 110 S. 
Ct. 2715 (1990)).
    Mr. Kletch's claim that application of the mandatory debarment 
provisions of the act is prohibited by the ex post facto clause is 
unpersuasive. Because the intent behind debarment under section 
306(a)(2) of the act is remedial rather than punitive, this section 
does not violate the ex post facto clause.
    The congressional intent with respect to actions under section 
306(a)(2) of the act is clearly remedial. Congress created the GDEA in 
response to findings of fraud and corruption in the generic drug 
industry. Both the language of the GDEA itself and its legislative 
history reveal that the purpose of the debarment provisions set forth 
in the GDEA is ``to restore and ensure the integrity of the ANDA 
approval process and to protect the public health.'' (See section 1, 
Pub. L. 102-282, The Generic Drug Enforcement Act of 1992.) This is a 
remedial rather than a punitive goal (see Manocchio v. Kusserow, 961 
F.2d 1539, 1542 (11 Cir. 1992) (exclusion of physician from 
participation in medicare programs because criminal conviction is 
remedial, not punitive)). Supporting the remedial character of 
debarment is a statement by Senator Hatch in the Congressional Record 
of April 10, 1992, at S 5616, ``* * * [t]he legislation * * * provides 
a much-needed remedy for the blatant fraud and corruption uncovered in 
the generic drug industry * * * during the last 3 years.''
    The Supreme Court has long held that statutes that deny future 
privileges to convicted offenders because of their previous criminal 
activities in order to ensure against corruption in specified areas do 
not impose penalties for past conduct and, therefore, do not violate 
the ex post facto prohibitions (see, e.g., Hawker v. New York, 170 U.S. 
189, 190 (1898) (physician barred from practicing medicine for a prior 
felony conviction); De Veau v. Braisted, 373 U.S. 154 (1960) (convicted 
felon's exclusion from employment as officer of waterfront union is not 
a violation of the ex post facto clause)).
    In De Veau, the Court upheld a law that prohibited a convicted 
felon from employment as an officer in a waterfront union. The purpose 
of the law was to remedy the past corruption and to ensure against 
future corruption in the waterfront unions. The court in De Veau, 363 
U.S. at 160, stated:

    The question in each case where unpleasant consequences are 
brought to bear upon an individual for prior conduct, is whether the 
legislative aim was to punish that individual for past activity, or 
whether the restriction of the individual comes about as a relevant 
incident to a regulation of a present situation, such as the proper 
qualifications for a profession * * *.

    The legislative purpose of the relevant statute here is to ensure 
that fraud and corruption are eliminated from the drug industry. The 
restrictions placed on individuals convicted of a felony under Federal 
law are not intended as punishment but are ``incident to a regulation 
of a present situation'' (De Veau, 363 U.S. at 160) and necessary in 
order to remedy the past fraud and corruption in the industry.
    Finally, Mr. Kletch argues that the proposal to debar him under 
section 306(a)(2) of the act violates the double jeopardy clause of the 
Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The double jeopardy clause 
states that no person shall ``be subject for the same offense to be 
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.'' Mr. Kletch relies on U.S. v. 
Halper, 490 U.S. 435 (1989), to argue that the Fifth Amendment double 
jeopardy clause should prevent his debarment because a civil sanction 
that serves the goals of punishment--retribution or deterrence--
constitutes punishment. To support his argument that the purpose of 
debarment is punitive, Mr. Kletch relies on statements in the 
Congressional Records referring to the debarment provisions of the act 
as, among other things, deterrents. Mr. Kletch further argues that his 
proposed permanent debarment is punitive because it would eliminate any 
opportunity to demonstrate that he would no longer be a threat to the 
integrity of the drug approval process.
    Mr. Kletch's arguments are unconvincing. First, the double jeopardy 
clause is inapplicable here because the effect of section 306(a)(2) of 
the act is remedial, not punitive. As discussed above, the legislative 
goal of this section is to restore and ensure the integrity of the drug 
approval process and to protect the public health by eradicating fraud 
and corruption from the drug industry. This is plainly a remedial 
rather than a punitive goal (Manocchio v. Kusserow, 961 F.2d at 1542). 
Although the Congressional Records contain statements, as Mr. Kletch 
points out, that the legislation will provide deterrents, the primary 
goal of the legislation, as shown above, is to protect the public from 
corruption found to exist in the drug industry. Thus, because the 
legislative intent of section 306(a)(2) of the act is to protect the 
public, a legitimate nonpunitive goal, the sanctions imposed by the 
debarment provisions are remedial, not punitive.
    The fact that Mr. Kletch's debarment is permanent rather than 
temporary does not signify that the legislation is nonremedial or 
punitive. The Supreme Court has upheld laws which, for remedial 
purposes, permanently bar a class or group of individuals from certain 
occupations due to a prior criminal conviction (see Hawker v. New York, 
170 U.S. 189, 190 (1898); De Veau v. Braisted, 373 U.S. 154 (1960)).
    Second, the double jeopardy clause is inapplicable to FDA's 
proposal to debar Mr. Kletch because the sanctions imposed by section 
306(a)(2) of the act are rationally related to the remedial 
governmental goal of eradicating fraud from the drug industry.
    Due to the potentially serious consequences to the public health of 
fraud and corruption in the drug industry, the permanent debarment of 
convicted felons like Mr. Kletch is not an excessive means to eliminate 
fraud from the industry. The legislative history of the GDEA is replete 
with statements, some cited above, that the act provides a reasonable 
means of ridding the generic drug industry of widespread corruption and 
to restore consumer confidence in generic drugs.
    Mr. Kletch acknowledges that he was convicted as alleged by FDA in 
its proposal to debar him and has raised no genuine and substantial 
issue of fact regarding this conviction. In addition, Mr. Kletch's 
legal arguments do not create a basis for a hearing and, in any event, 
are unpersuasive. Accordingly, the Interim Deputy Commissioner for 
Operations denies Mr. Kletch's request for a hearing.

III. Findings and Order

    Therefore, the Interim Deputy Commissioner for Operations, under 
section 306(a) of the act, and under authority delegated to her (21 CFR 
5.20), finds that Mr. Walter S. Kletch has been convicted of a felony 
under Federal law for conduct: (1) Relating to the development or 
approval, including the process for development or approval, of a drug 
product (21 U.S.C. 335a(a)(2)(A)); and (2) relating to the regulation 
of a drug product (21 U.S.C. 335a(a)(2)(B)).
    As a result of the foregoing findings, Mr. Walter S. Kletch is 
permanently debarred from providing services in any capacity to a 
person with an approved or pending drug product application under 
sections 505, 507, 512, or 802 of the act (21 U.S.C. 355, 357, 360b, or 
382), or under section 351 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
262), effective November 29, 1994 (21 U.S.C. 335a(c)(1)(B) and 
(c)(2)(A)(ii) and 21 U.S.C. 321(ee)).
    Any person with an approved or pending drug product application who 
knowingly uses the services of Mr. Kletch in any capacity, during his 
period of debarment, will be subject to civil money penalties (21 
U.S.C. 335b(a)(6)). If Mr. Kletch, during his period of debarment, 
provides services in any capacity to a person with an approved or 
pending drug product application, he will be subject to civil money 
penalties (21 U.S.C. 335b(a)(7)). In addition, FDA will not accept or 
review any abbreviated new drug application or abbreviated antibiotic 
drug application submitted by or with Mr. Kletch's assistance during 
his period of debarment.
    Mr. Kletch may file an application to attempt to terminate his 
debarment, pursuant to section 306(d)(4)(A) of the act. Any such 
application would be reviewed under the criteria and processes set 
forth in section 306(d)(4)(C) and (d)(4)(D) of the act. Such an 
application should be identified with Docket No. 92N-0423 and sent to 
the Dockets Management Branch (address above). All such submissions are 
to be filed in four copies. The public availability of information in 
these submissions is governed by 21 CFR 10.20(j). Publicly available 
submissions may be seen in the Dockets Management Branch between 9 a.m. 
and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

    Dated: November 14, 1994.
Linda A. Suydam,
Interim Deputy Commissioner for Operations.
[FR Doc. 94-29384 Filed 11-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-P