Funds Misuse Was Behind Resignation of White House Cuba Aide

WASHINGTON — The White House announced Friday that a former special assistant to the president's resignation was tied to allegations of misuse of federal money.

Felipe Sixto, who was appointed special assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs on March 1, resigned March 20 after informing White House officials that he "had engaged in improprieties involving USAID grant money," while working with his former employer, the Center for a Free Cuba, said presidential spokesman Blair C. Jones.

The White House learned of the allegations from Sixto as a result of legal actions being initiated by the Washington-based center, Jones said.

The White House has referred the issue to the Justice Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development has launched a separate investigation through its inspector general's office, Jones said.

Frank Calzon, executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba, said Sixto had worked there for three years and was his chief of staff before leaving for the White House in July 2007.

"No one currently working for the center is alleged to have done anything inappropriate," Calzon said. "I welcome the investigation by the Justice Department and the USAID, and want them to be done as quickly as possible."

Calzon said he learned in January that Sixto may have diverted USAID grant money to the center for his personal use. Calzon declined to say how much money had been granted to the center or how much may have been misused.