Billy R. Dale was acquitted Thursday of embezzling funds in the White House travel office scandal.
A federal jury cleared Dale, fired former director of the travel office, of charges he had embezzled $68,000 in funds related to the news media's travel expenses in covering the president.Prosecutors contended that Dale took the money from the office to pay for a six-bedroom retirement home on Virginia's Lake Anna, two recreational boats, his children's college tuition and other personal expenses.
He and the entire travel office staff were fired by the Clinton White House in May 1993 during efforts to replace them with employees of a Little Rock, Ark., firm that had worked for President Clinton's campaign.
After the verdict, friends and relatives streamed into the hallway, crying tears of relief. Dale and his family had huddled in the hall before the verdict.
Dale's attorney, Steven Tabackman, told reporters the verdict vindicated his view that the case was begun "as a misguided effort by the White House to remove long-term and highly respected employees and replace them with campaign contributors."
"It's been 30 long months," Dale told reporters after hearing the verdict. "I've got to have time to think about it. I can't tell you right now what I think about it, it wouldn't be appropriate. I've been angry for 21/2 years, I've had to keep my mouth shut."
Dale, who had been in the travel office 31 years, and the government agreed that he had taken the $68,000, but the jury had to decide what he did with it.
"Nobody's suggesting Mr. Dale shopped at Tiffany's or carried Gucci bags, but he did have a lake house, make loans to his kids," prosecutor Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department said in closing arguments Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
Dale, who headed the office that made travel arrangements for the White House press corps, is accused of depositing $54,000 of media funds into his personal bank account from 1988 to 1991. He is also charged with stealing an additional $14,000 in cash withdrawals from a travel office bank account.
Taking the stand in his own defense, Dale maintained during the 13-day trial that he used the cash for legitimate press travel expenses that he didn't want to bill directly to news organizations because they were complaining about rising trip costs.
"Was it a good idea? No," defense attorney Tabackman conceded in closing arguments Wednesday. "But this is not a guy who's scheming and thinking things out."