Katrina Made Me Do It

Remember former White House advisor Claude Allen who resigned not long before being charged with stealing from Target? Turns out he gets off easy and blames... hurricane Katrina.

Former White House adviser Claude Allen tearfully pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge Friday, telling a Montgomery County judge that he lost his bearings after working 14-hour days and getting little sleep in the "tumultuous time" after Hurricane Katrina.

"Something did go very wrong," said Allen, who began crying during his remarks to the court. "I failed to restrain myself ... I did not appreciate what was going on.

Considering that the maximum penalty for committing theft 25 times was 18 years in prison, Allen got off easy with only probation and no criminal record on his file. And since he will only pay $850 in restitution and $500 in court costs for stealing $5,000 worth of goods, he will actually profit from his crime.

Meanwhile, unlike Allen who only went through the disaster in his head, three people who actually had to go through Katrina were sentenced to an outrageous 15 years in prison for stealing liquor.

The sentencing judge in that case said he wanted to make a statement. In Allen's case, I guess the judge wanted to make a statement, too: if you're going to commit a felony, it helps to be connected to the White House.

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