Bush's Top Domestic Policy Advisor

[TexasTiger 12,996]

Admission Attributed To Bush's Ex-Aide

Details Disclosed In Fraud Case

By Ernesto Londoño

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 14, 2006; Page B01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6031301677.html

Former White House adviser Claude A. Allen admitted "that he was committing fraudulent returns" on Jan 2. when a store manager confronted him as he was leaving a Gaithersburg Target with merchandise he allegedly didn't pay for, a police charging document says.

Police issued Allen, 45, a citation at 7:30 p.m. that day for allegedly stealing "clothing and cleaning products" worth $74.72 from the store, at 25 Grand Corner Ave. Like traffic tickets, such citations often do not lead to arrests and seldom lead to jail time when they go to trial.

But Allen's Jan. 2 brush with police triggered an investigation that resulted in two felony theft charges last week.

Allen, who resigned last month as President Bush's top domestic policy adviser, appeared Thursday in District Court in Rockville with his attorney, Mallon Snyder, to fight the Jan. 2 misdemeanor charge. Prosecutors dropped the charge, but shortly after leaving the courtroom, Allen was arrested and charged with theft scheme and theft over $500, each punishable by as much as 15 years in prison.

Snyder said last week that Allen did not steal from the stores, and he characterized the transactions in question as "misunderstandings." Yesterday, he declined to elaborate on the nature of the misunderstanding or on Allen's alleged acknowledgment of involvement Jan. 2.

Police said they have been able to document 25 instances in which Allen tried to obtain refunds for items he was seen picking up from shelves at Target and Hecht's stores in Montgomery by using receipts for identical items he had bought earlier.