Tareq Salahi and his wife, Michaele, helped organize Team Land Rover during a polo trip to Aspen last year, when they received a complimentary stay at the St. Regis Resort, had their photo snapped with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and generally partied and rubbed elbows.

New Castle rancher Barry Stout recalls the visit to the December 2008 World Snow Polo Championship. The Salahis, he says, plunked down a $3,000 deposit but still owe Stout the remaining $19,500 for their entry.

“They kind of put me in the starve mode,” Stout, who runs the Roaring Fork Polo Club, tells The Aspen Times.

Earlier this week, the couple appeared on NBC’s Today show, claiming they did not crash a White House state dinner last week—an incident that has raised alarms about the president’s security and has even spawned an inquiry by Congress. A long list of news organizations, including Sky, are reporting that the Salahis refused to testify to Congress after claiming they were invited to the dinner, where they were photographed shaking hands with President Barack Obama.

Posted 12/3/2009 at 3:56 pm by Michael de Yoanna
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