An end to The Sunderland Affair?

A senior government scientist who was a focus of a congressional probe into conflicts of interest in medical research admitted in federal court yesterday that he improperly failed to disclose payments of $285,000 he received as a consultant for the pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer.

Pearson "Trey" Sunderland III, who was chief of the Geriatric Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health, pleaded guilty in Baltimore to a misdemeanor charge of violating conflict-of-interest rules.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the Chevy Chase resident must forfeit $300,000 -- the payments plus expenses for which he was reimbursed. At the Dec. 22 sentencing, prosecutors have said that they will recommend that he be placed on probation for two years.

Sunderland, 55, admitted to entering consulting agreements with the drugmaker beginning in 1998 without receiving the required approval in advance or disclosing his income after the fact.

More at the WaPo