Ex-Researcher Charged With Attempt to Defraud N.Y.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday accused a former researcher at the State University of New York at Buffalo of attempting to defraud the state by allegedly deceiving investigators in a misconduct case against him several years ago. According to the broad series of felony charges that Cuomo's office laid out against William Fals-Stewart, the researcher was accused in 2004 of scientific misconduct for falsifying data in federally funded studies. He was cleared during that inquiry, and promptly sued the state and SUNY for $4 million in damages, according to Cuomo's account. But in the process of defending itself against Fals-Stewart's accusations, Cuomo alleged, the attorney general's office found evidence that Fals-Stewart had arranged for actors to pose as three witnesses, providing false testimony, during the investigation into his misconduct. The researcher allegedly told the actors that they were participating in a mock trial training exercise. Fals-Stewart, who worked at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions, was charged with attempted grand larceny, perjury and identity theft, among other things. He could not be reached for comment.