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Jury finds McDougal not guilty of all charges
SANTA MONICA, California (AllPolitics, November 23) -- A jury found Susan McDougal not guilty Monday of nine counts of embezzlement and failure to file tax returns. Conductor Zubin Mehta and his wife, Nancy, had accused McDougal, a key figure in the Whitewater investigation, of stealing $50,000 while working as their bookkeeper and personal assistant between 1989 and 1992. "The jurors saw through it," McDougal said after being acquitted. "I never thought the jury would get it. I thought it was a very hard case for them to understand why the Mehtas would have pursued it." McDougal mouthed "thank you" to the jury of nine women and three men as the judge delivered his final instructions after the verdict was read. The jurors received the case last Wednesday afternoon, after 10 weeks of testimony. In a news conference after the court proceedings, McDougal reiterated her contention that she is being pressured by Independent Counsel Ken Starr to change her testimony about President Bill Clinton's involvement in Whitewater. "Everything that's happened to me has been so that I would tell some story that was not the truth about Bill or Hillary Clinton...I think that's what this trial was about and I thank these jurors for seeing through it," McDougal said."When people say to me you know, are you scared of Ken Starr? I always think he better be scared of me cause I'm on my way back." McDougal's fiance Pat Harris and her brother Bill Henley began crying and hugging when the last verdict was announced. "Thank you, thank you," Harris told jurors. One alternate juror was seen wiping tears from her eyes. The Mehtas originally accused McDougal of stealing $150,000, mostly by using a joint credit card to make unauthorized purchases. Superior Court Judge Leslie Light threw out three of the 12 charges on November 12, and said the prosecution had failed to prove McDougal could have embezzled any more than $50,000. By reducing the amount in the grand theft charge, Light also reduced McDougal's potential sentence. Trustworthy employee or liar?During the testimony, jurors heard conflicting descriptions of McDougal, ranging from a loyal and trustworthy employee to a conniving liar.
McDougal herself testified that Nancy Mehta was very generous. Nancy Mehta countered in her testimony that she was not that generous and that McDougal took more than she was entitled to. In his closing arguments, defense attorney Mark Geragos said McDougal was a friend of Nancy Mehta and the case arose when McDougal announced she was leaving her job to be with her fiance. McDougal "stuck around because she was loyal," Geragos said. "She stayed as a friend and a loyal employee and it's an outrage that she should be put through this." Geragos showed jurors documentation, including Nancy Mehta's handwritten accounts of how she was handling her husband's millions. He said Nancy Mehta was the liar and that she hid financial records until just before the trial began. Zubin Mehta testified that his wife did not even know how to turn the computer on and that the couple trusted McDougal with their bookkeeping. 'Weak in the recollection department'Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Semow also portrayed Nancy Mehta as confused, ignorant of business affairs and "weak in the recollection department." McDougal, on the other hand, is "glib, she's charming, she sounds good. But if you listen to what she's saying, half the time it doesn't make sense," the prosecutor said. Semow insisted the case was not a contest of credibility between the two women, although Light said outside the jury's presence that it was. The case is unrelated to the Whitewater investigation. Light said he wanted to keep Whitewater out of the current trial, saying the failed land deal involving the president, first lady and McDougal and her late husband had nothing to do with the embezzlement case. Susan McDougal spent 18 months in jail for refusing to testify before a Whitewater grand jury, and served 14 weeks for fraud-related felonies involving a $300,000 loan. The Associated Press contributed to this report.MORE STORIES:Monday, November 23, 1998
• Hubbell pleads innocent to latest Whitewater charges • Jury finds McDougal not guilty of all embezzlement charges • Reno faces decisions on campaign finance investigations • Landow testimony before House panel delayed • Health care again on agenda -- but what to do? • Social Security, taxes to be top priorities, Livingston says | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
