The Tale of the Tape

By PAUL GRAY/

In the aftermath of the Marion Barry verdict, federal investigators in Washington are scratching their heads over how badly their prime bit of evidence -- the infamous hotel videotape -- misfired with the jury. Officials concede that the tape made it seem as if Rasheeda Moore, the ex-girlfriend, initiated talk about cocaine and induced a reluctant Barry to play along. What went wrong? Officials say Moore thought Barry mentioned drugs first, in code, by asking her if she had been "good." What came through on the tape, though, was that Barry was principally interested in "jumping her bones,"as an investigator put it. But Moore, now a born-again Christian, was resisting his sexual advances and diverting his attention with talk of drugs. The FBI thought the scene it was taping would be irrefutable proof that Barry did not discourage such discussions. The effect was otherwise, and the furor over government tactics overshadowed the image of Barry smoking crack. "I was just thinking about right and wrong," says a rueful agent. "I've learned a lot from this case."

With reporting by David E. Thigpen