US President George W Bush's former political adviser has been charged with stealing more than $5,000 from department stores.
The president said he was "shocked" and "sad" on hearing the news about Claude Allen, who resigned abruptly as his domestic policy adviser last month.
Mr Allen, 45, has denied at least 25 thefts from Target and Hecht's stores.
The scam allegedly involved Mr Allen claiming refunds for merchandise that he did not buy.
Mr Allen was arrested on Thursday by police in Montgomery County, Maryland, following an investigation into an alleged incident at the Target store in Gaithersburg, Maryland on 2 January.
Appeals court nominee
A Target employee said he saw Mr Allen put items in an empty Target bag, which he then took to the refund desk with a receipt, and claimed money back, Reuters said, citing a police statement.
He was credited more than $5,000 to his credit card through similar transactions at other shops, police said.
Mr Allen reported the 2 January incident to White House staff the next day, saying it was a misunderstanding related to his credit cards, a White House spokesman said.
"He assured them that he had done nothing wrong and the matter would be cleared up," the spokesman said.
Mr Allen, a lawyer born in Philadelphia, was promoted to White House domestic policy adviser in early 2005, having been the No 2 official at the health and human services department.
Mr Bush had nominated him in 2003 for a seat on the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia, but withdrew him because of political opposition.
'Misunderstanding'
"When I heard the story last night, I was shocked, and my first reaction was one of disappointment, deep disappointment - if it's true - that we were not fully informed," Mr Bush said on Saturday.
"Shortly thereafter, I felt really sad for the Allen family."
"If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad."
Mr Allen resigned suddenly on 9 February, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Mallon Snyder, a lawyer for Mr Allen, called the arrest and charges "a misunderstanding", and said he wanted to meet Target investigators to clear things up.
i'm kinda wondering if honest people even make it anymore. At work i've been saying that the only way to get ahead in life is to be crooked. enron,wall street crooks,politicians,corrupt bankers,corrupt border patrol agents,ceos,MM's, capitalism is good but is this the kind of people it breeds? people who would stab thier mother in the back with a stolen knife that they claimed as a deduction on their taxes, and then return it at the store for a store credit?
Posted by Dustoff101 on :
Entitlement issues again?
Some kind of perverse guilt?
Cultural Race issues?
Or, the obvious, one dumb SOB.....
Typical of the Boss and Crew of this administratiion.
Geezz, the gift that never stops giving! Well, material for the critics and comics anyhow.
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
Entitlement issues... That's what popped into my head too.
Posted by Dustoff101 on :
This whole crew is one dumb bunch a ya whos!
Doesn't seem to matter if they are Black, Green, Brown, White, Red or Blue....
Posted by bdgee on :
Yeah, they are a bunch of bozos, but I suspect this is just the oddball sicko that invades any and every group. They have them in church groups, the Boy Scouts, the Navy, pro and college football squads, etc., etc, etc.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)