Especially given his position. I'd like to say that its a part of the proverbial culture of corruption, but this is plain stupid.
larry On 3/11/06, Loathe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I sa that on the news last night. > > WTF are people thinking when they do something like this? > > > -- > Tim Heald > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 703-300-3911 > -----Original Message----- > From: Larry C. Lyons [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Saturday, March 11, 2006 10:34 AM > To: CF-Community > Subject: FW: Former Top Bush Aide Accused of Md. Thefts > > From this morning's Washington Post: > http://www.antiwrap.com/?933 > > Former Top Bush Aide Accused of Md. Thefts Refund Scam Netted $5,000, Police > Say > > By Ernesto Londoño and Michael A. Fletcher Washington Post Staff Writers > Saturday, March 11, 2006; A01 > > Claude A. Allen, who resigned last month as President Bush's top domestic > policy adviser, was arrested this week in Montgomery County for allegedly > swindling Target and Hecht's stores out of more than $5,000 in a refund > scheme, police said. > > Allen, 45, of Gaithersburg, has been released on his own recognizance and is > awaiting trial on two charges, felony theft scheme and theft over $500, said > Lt. Eric Burnett, a police spokesman. Each charge is punishable by up to 15 > years in prison. > > Allen could not be reached for comment last night. > > His attorney, Mallon Snyder, said last night that his client denies > wrongdoing. The lawyer disputed the police account of Allen's actions. > "It's his reputation. Obviously, he's very concerned about it," Snyder said. > > Snyder said he feels confident that Allen will be able to prove that the > incidents were "a series of misunderstandings." > > Allen, a former deputy secretary in the Department of Health and Human > Services, was nominated in 2003 to a federal appeals court seat. He was > appointed the president's top domestic policy adviser last year at the start > of Bush's second term. That made him the highest-ranking African American on > the White House staff. > > Working out of a small office on the second floor of the West Wing, Allen > shaped administration policy on such issues as health care, space > exploration, housing and education. > > He came to the attention of Montgomery police after a manager at a > Gaithersburg Target store called the department about an incident Jan. > 2. Montgomery detectives were able to document other alleged crimes from > Oct. 29 to Jan. 2, some of which were captured on camera, Burnett said. > > Allen resigned from the White House on Feb. 9, saying he wanted to spend > more time with his family > > In a statement that day, Bush said: "Claude is a good and compassionate man, > and he has my deep respect and gratitude. I thank him for his many years of > principled and dedicated service to our country." > > Burnett said Montgomery police contacted the White House to verify Allen's > identity after the Jan. 2 incident. He said that was the extent of their > communication with the administration. He said he could not immediately > determine the date of that contact, or whether police informed the White > House that Allen had been charged Jan. 2 and was still under investigation. > > White House spokesman Scott McClellan said last night that if the allegation > is true, "no one would be more disappointed, shocked and outraged" than the > president. McClellan said Allen had told White House Chief of Staff Andrew > H. Card Jr. and White House counsel Harriet Miers that the matter was a > misunderstanding. > > This is what police said happened Jan. 2: > > Employees at the Target store at 25 Grand Corner Ave. in Gaithersburg > spotted Allen putting merchandise in a shopping bag. He then walked over to > the guest services desk, produced a receipt and received a refund for the > items. > > After getting the refund, Allen left the store without paying for additional > merchandise in his shopping cart. > > A store employee stopped him, and police were called to the store. > Officers issued a citation charging him with theft under $500 but did not > arrest him. Court records show prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor charge, > which is not unusual in cases in which detectives are considering filing > more serious charges. > > Detectives from the county's retail crime unit soon learned that the > incident was not an isolated event, Burnett said. > > He said investigators were able to document 25 fraudulent refunds for items > including a Bose home theater system, stereo equipment, clothes, a photo > printer and items worth as little as $2.50. > > Allen would purchase an item, take it to his car, return to the store, > select the same item, take it to the counter and get a refund based on the > receipt for the merchandise in his car, Burnett said. "He would get the > money back or the credit" on his credit cards. > > Allen's arrest was first reported yesterday afternoon by the online magazine > Slate. > > At the time of his resignation, Allen denied reports that he was leaving to > protest military guidelines that required chaplains to perform only > nondenominational services. > > As Bush's top domestic policy aide, he frequently briefed the president and > traveled with him on Air Force One, and he sat in first lady Laura Bush's > box during the president's State of the Union address Jan. 31. Two days, > later he traveled with the president to Minnesota, briefing reporters about > Bush's education and alternative energy proposals. > > At the Department of Health and Human Services, where he became a strong > advocate for abstinence-only AIDS prevention programs, Allen focused on > homeless issues and racial health disparities. > > Democrats in Congress blocked his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals > for the 4th Circuit in 2003, citing his relative lack of legal experience. > The court, based in Richmond, covers Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and > South Carolina. > > Allen, a native of Philadelphia, spent much of his childhood in a > working-class section of Northwest Washington, attending Archbishop Carroll > High School. He later attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel > Hill and Duke Law School. > > Allen is a self-described born-again Christian who got his start in politics > working for Jesse Helms (R), the conservative former North Carolina senator. > > Allen stirred controversy as Helms's campaign spokesman in 1984 by telling a > reporter that then-Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. -- Helms's opponent -- was > politically vulnerable because of his links to the "queers." He later > explained that he used the word not to denigrate anyone but as a synonym for > "odd and unusual." > > Before that, Allen worked for the Virginia state attorney general's office > and as state health and human resources secretary. In that job, he earned a > reputation as a staunch conservative; once he kept Medicaid funds from an > impoverished rape victim who wanted an abortion. > > Staff writer Martin Weil contributed to this report. > > (c) 2006 The Washington Post Company > > > -- > Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and > he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion. > > Edmond Burke > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:199612 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
