Luther Williams, the top education official at the National Science Foundation (NSF), has agreed to pay $24,900 for violating rules against accepting payment for outside activities connected to his job. The money is part of a settlement of a civil case brought by the Justice Department, which requires Williams to pay a $20,000 penalty to the government and repay $4900 in honoraria for four speeches dating back to 1993.
Williams keeps his job as head of NSF's Education and Human Resources directorate. But a letter of reprimand stipulates that for a year Williams must get advance written approval for all travel and for non-job-related income-generating activities. At the same time, the letter praises his "extraordinary skill and energy" and previously "impeccable" record.
"We accept the government's decision and NSF's reaction," says Williams's lawyer, Guy Petrillo, of the New York firm of Shereff, Friedman, Hoffman & Goodman. "There's no dispute that he accepted the honoraria" contrary to regulations, he says.
Among the honoraria pocketed by Williams was $2000 from Sigma Xi, the national scientific honor society. Deputy Director Evan Ferguson recalls his "surprise" when Williams assured the society that he could accept payment for a 1994 speech. "We thought we couldn't pay government officials," Ferguson says.
Williams declined to comment on the case, although sources say he might have pled extenuating circumstances had it gone to trial.
