Espy Is Told He’s Target of Grand Jury Inquiry

An independent counsel has officially informed former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy that he is a target of a criminal grand jury investigation, a source close to the probe said Tuesday.

The grand jury also is targeting Arkansas-based poultry giant Tyson Foods Inc. in its investigation of whether Tyson tried to use football tickets and free air fare to influence Espy while he was in President Clinton’s Cabinet. Espy resigned in December 1994.

Tyson Foods acknowledged last month that it has been told it is a target in the nearly three-year investigation by independent counsel Donald C. Smaltz. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said Espy also received a letter several weeks ago notifying him that he is a target of the investigation.

Espy’s attorney, Reid Weingarten, was out of the country and unavailable for comment. A spokesman for Smaltz said the independent counsel would not comment on targets of the probe and would not release the letter.

Smaltz has spent about $9 million to investigate whether Espy violated the law by accepting tickets from Tyson for a Dallas Cowboys playoff game and $1,009 in air fare from the company for his girlfriend, Patricia Dempsey.

Investigators say Tyson Foundation Inc. also provided Dempsey with a $1,200 scholarship.

Tyson Foods has branded Smaltz’s investigation a “misguided and senseless expenditure of funds by an unrestrained and imprudent independent counsel.” It said it was only acting with “common hospitality.”

Espy has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged. He has repaid Tyson and other agribusinesses that gave him sports tickets, gifts and travel reimbursements.