The Washington Post
January 18, 2007 Thursday
Final Edition
Embezzlement Case Is Dropped and Detective Suspended
BYLINE: Tom Jackman, Washington Post Staff Writer
SECTION: Metro; B04
LENGTH: 530 words
Fairfax County prosecutors yesterday dropped an embezzlement
case against a county employee who was investigated by a police detective who
was having an affair with the employee's wife.
The abrupt ending came on the day that Donald E. Travers was
scheduled for trial, nearly a year after prosecutors successfully argued that
the affair had no legal bearing on the case. A Fairfax judge called the conduct
of then-Detective William E. Baitinger "deplorable and inexcusable, and a
discredit to the Fairfax County Police Department," but rejected Travers's
motion to dismiss the case.
On the eve of the trial, however, "we just decided
there were distinct problems with the case," said Fairfax Commonwealth's
Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. He declined to discuss the problems but said,
"I'm satisfied, in spite of the problems, he [Travers] is leaving county
government and he's finished with this county government."
Travers's lawyer, Peter D. Greenspun, said the case was
dropped "because I believe the prosecution had zero confidence in their
key witness, a police officer who had misled the prosecution, the county and
his own department's internal affairs investigation."
Police officials suspended Baitinger for four days without
pay and transferred him to patrol duty, though that had no impact on his
salary. Police spokeswoman Mary Ann Jennings said the department had no comment
on the conclusion of the case.
Baitinger, 47, was a property crimes detective in the Fair
Oaks station in August 2004 when he began investigating Travers for allegedly
stealing computer equipment and tools from the county government center.
Travers, 47, worked in facilities management as a carpenter, and records show
the case was launched by his then-wife, Teresa Travers, who sent detailed
e-mails to the county listing the property she believed was stolen.
In early September, Donald Travers was charged with three
counts of embezzlement. In addition, Baitinger charged Travers's supervisor
with obstruction of justice for failing to corroborate the embezzlement case.
The supervisor later was acquitted, and the county was forced to pay $3,278 for
his legal fees.
Early in the investigation, a police internal affairs
investigation found, Baitinger "developed an intimate relationship with
Donald Travers' wife." The detective, who was married, "utilized
county resources, computer, telephone, cruiser and employee hours to continue
to further the relationship" with the suspect's wife, which he failed to
disclose to prosecutors or county attorneys, police determined.
Baitinger was also "cautioned" by two of his
colleagues about the relationship with Teresa Travers "while pursuing
criminal charges against her husband," the investigation found.
Greenspun tried to get the case dismissed for governmental
misconduct. But Fairfax Circuit Court Judge R. Terrence Ney found that the
police did not "set out to use sex as a weapon to investigate" the
case, and that Baitinger did not use "his relationship with Mrs. Travers
to achieve governmental ends."
Baitinger, who remains on the force, could not be reached
for comment yesterday. Greenspun said Travers would have no comment.