From The Associated Press, 3/14/06:
http://www.nbc17.com/news/7992060/detail.html
Police: Former Bush Aide And Raleigh Native Admitted Theft
ROCKVILLE, Md. --
A former aide to North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms who became a top
adviser to President Bush admitted to an investigator that he
fraudulently returned merchandise to a department store, according to
charging documents.
Target Corp. loss prevention manager Pete Schomburg stopped Claude
Allen, a 45-year-old native of Raleigh, N.C., on Jan. 2 as Allen left
the Gaithersburg store.
Allen had allegedly received a refund for items using a receipt from
an earlier purchase.
"Allen had receipts from previous purchases at Target stores and
admitted to Agent Schomburg that he was committing fraudulent
returns," according to the charging documents filed March 7 by
Montgomery County police, two days before Allen was charged with theft
and theft scheme.
Police allege that Allen made fraudulent returns worth at least $5,000
at Target and other stores in the Washington suburbs on 25 different
occasions.
Charging documents cite several instances where store surveillance
tapes show Allen making the refunds.
His lawyer, Mallon Snyder, has denied the charges, saying they are a
result of problems with Allen's credit cards.
Snyder said Tuesday that he did not have any comment on the charging
documents.
Allen is scheduled to go on trial April 27.
Allen was the first black aide hired by Helms after graduating from
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke Law School.
He was a spokesman for Helms during his 1984 re-election race, when
Allen made a remark that has stuck to him throughout his career.
Allen said that Helms' opponent, Jim Hunt, had ties to "queers."
The remark was among the reasons Senate Democrats blocked Allen's
nomination in 2003 to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Richmond, Va., a step away from the Supreme Court.
Police initially charged Allen in the Jan. 2 incident with a
misdemeanor, a charge that was dropped Thursday when he appeared in
District Court.
But later that day, he was arrested and charged with the more serious
charges of theft and theft scheme over $500 in the other incidents.
Each carry a possible prison sentence of 15 years.
Allen was a domestic policy adviser to President Bush with an annual
salary of $161,000 before abruptly leaving the White House in
February.
At the time, he said he wanted to spend more time with his family. All
the alleged incidents occurred while he was working at the White
House.
White House officials said Allen notified chief of staff Andy Card the
night of the Jan. 2 incident, but told Card it was a misunderstanding.
Bush was informed of the incident and Allen's planned departure in
February.
On Saturday, Bush said it would be "deeply disappointing" if Allen did
not tell the White House the truth about what happened.
The charging documents, first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post,
also detail at least four other incidents where Allen allegedly
received refunds for merchandise he did not buy.
According to authorities, Allen would buy items, take them to his car,
then return to the store and pick up identical items from store
shelves.
He would then take them to the return desk and use his original
receipt to get credit on his credit cards.
On Oct. 29, Allen allegedly used the scheme for a $525 Bose theater
system at a Gaithersburg Target.
On Dec. 24, he returned $284.58 worth of merchandise, including a $237
Kodak printer, at a Germantown Target, a transaction watched by Target
investigators.
On Dec. 30, Allen is seen on security video refunding $125.94 worth of
merchandise that he paid for in cash, including a $60 men's jacket and
two items that cost just $2.50.
Two days later, he received a refund for a $88 stereo at a Rockville
Target.
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Bush's sex police chief arrested
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sidney_blumenthal/2006/03/the_fall_of_bushs_race_man..html
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The Bush Regime: "A bunch of mindless jerks who'll be
the first against the wall when the revolution comes."
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SCOTT MCCLELLAN - arrested for lewd behavior after witnesses report him
masturbating in a movie theatre during "Brokeback Mountain."
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