White House Aide Abducted at Gunpoint, Robbed of $1,500

Mark Fabiani, the White House spokesman in the Whitewater affair, was heading home last week when he was abducted at gunpoint and forced to withdraw $1,500 from automated teller machines before being freed.

Accosted by two men in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Va., Friday night, Fabiani drove into Washington where he got the money with credit cards and a cash card, Alexandria Police Lt. John Crawford said Monday.

Fabiani had gotten off the subway and was walking home when the men confronted him, one of them pointing a gun, and ordered him into their car, police said.

Television station WRC reported that the men also took Fabiani’s Rolex watch, his briefcase and a cellular telephone. The items were returned, but only after Fabiani withdrew $1,500--about half of what the robbers demanded.

WRC reported that the abductors returned $10 to Fabiani for a cab ride home.

Fabiani already had a long day before his abduction at 9:30 p.m., followed by 2 1/2 hours with his abductors.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had testified before the Whitewater grand jury in Washington on Friday afternoon, and Fabiani had spent the day responding to reporters’ questions and huddling with other White House aides.

“It was a perfect ending to a long week,” Fabiani said Monday night. He declined further comment, saying police advised him not to discuss details of the incident.