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A former high-ranking official of the Central Intelligence Agency pleaded guilty this morning in Virginia to one count of defrauding the United States in a corruption case that stemmed from the bribery scandal that brought down former U.S. Congressman Randall "Duke" Cunningham. Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, 53, who was the former Executive Director of the CIA, admitted he concealed his close relationship with contractor Brent Wilkes in a scheme that steered lucrative contracts toward Wilkes' company, according to federal prosecutors. Foggo faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release at a...

A New York financier was sentenced Friday to more than eight years in federal prison for laundering bribes to former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. A tearful Thomas Kontogiannis apologized and pleaded for leniency, but District Judge Larry Burns ordered him to serve eight years and one month in prison. Prosecutors wanted the maximum 10-year sentence. "You caused people to think ... this (system) doesn't work," Burns told Kontogiannis. "I just hope the opportunity is given to me to make good to the people that I let down," Kontogiannis said. Kontogiannis, 59, pleaded guilty one count of money laundering in...

SAN DIEGO A defense contractor has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for bribing former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham with cash, meals, trips and other gifts in exchange for nearly $90 million in Pentagon work. Brent Wilkes showed no emotion as U.S. District Judge Larry Burns delivered the sentence Tuesday in San Diego.

SAN DIEGO – Federal probation officials are recommending that Brent Wilkes, the Poway defense contractor who was convicted of bribing former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, should be sentenced to 60 years in prison, according to court records. Wilkes was scheduled to be sentenced next Monday, but that has been postponed until Feb. 19 at the request of his lawyer, Mark Geragos. In court papers, Geragos said he needed more time to analyze and challenge the report from the federal probation office, which he received Jan. 15 – later than required under court rules. Such a lengthy sentence recommendation, even in...

SAN DIEGO --- A jury on Monday found a Poway defense contractor guilty of bribing former North County Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The contractor, Brent Wilkes, was charged with bribing the Republican politician with more than $625,000 in cash on top of luxury vacations and jet boats in exchange for millions of taxpayer dollars in the form of contracts for his company. Wilkes faced 13 counts: one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery, one count of money laundering and 10 counts of wire fraud. He was found guilty on all counts Monday morning. The 53-year-old San Diego County native...

SAN DIEGO - Attorneys for the House of Representatives asked a federal judge Wednesday to quash subpoenas for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt and 10 other members of Congress in the trial of a defense contractor charged with bribing jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The subpoenas were sent by attorneys for Brent Wilkes, whose trial begins Tuesday on charges that he paid Cunningham $700,000 in exchange for government contracts. The contractor has pleaded not guilty to 25 counts of bribery, fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. Cunningham, an eight-term Republican from San Diego, is serving...

A federal prosecutor in the Randy “Duke” Cunningham case calls it a coincidence that the daughter of a key witness in the scandal purchased a home from the prosecutor's late uncle. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Halpern, one of four prosecutors in the case, had not seen his father's brother, Leonard Halpern, for about four years prior to the uncle's death in 2003. Further, he was not an heir to his uncle's estate and received no money from the sale of the Nassau County, N.Y, property in 2005. The details are contained in court papers filed Wednesday by prosecutors asking a...

New charges have been filed alleging that the CIA's former No. 3 official used his influence in that role to support a proposed $100 million government contract for his best friend, a defense contractor, in return for lavish vacations, private jet flights and a lucrative job offer. The indictment, returned Thursday by a federal grand jury in San Diego, supersedes charges brought in February against career CIA man Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and Poway-based contractor Brent Wilkes. The charges grew from the bribery scandal that landed former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in prison. Foggo resigned from the spy agency a...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- FBI agents have searched the Oakton, Va., home of California GOP Rep. John Doolittle, who is under investigation in the congressional corruption investigation surrounding convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Doolittle's attorney said Wednesday. The search last Friday focused on records of Doolittle's wife's company, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions Inc., said attorney David Barger.

FBI Raids Doolittle's Home: The FBI has raided the Northern Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), according to Congressional sources. No details are publicly available yet about the circumstances of the raid, but Doolittle and his wife, Julie, have been under federal investigation for their ties to the scandal surrounding imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

A House committee chairman is asking the White House for information about a contract awarded to MZM Inc., a company that was run by a defense contractor who pleaded guilty to bribing jailed GOP ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, released a letter to the White House on Monday asking for details on a $140,000 contract awarded to MZM in July 2002 by the Executive Office of the President, reportedly to provide computers and furniture for the vice president's office. Waxman, who chairs the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the inquiry was part of his...

Senate Democrats signaled Sunday that of the eight U.S. attorneys abruptly fired by the Bush administration, the case in San Diego is emerging as the most troubling because of new allegations that U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was fired in a direct attempt to shut down investigations into Republican politicians in Southern California. ...Lam spearheaded the case against Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the former Republican congressman from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., who pleaded guilty to bribery and income-tax evasion. He was sentenced in March 2006 to eight years and four months in prison.

Three House committees subpoenaed in connection with the bribery investigation into imprisoned former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham and his associates reached an agreement with federal prosecutors Tuesday allowing the subpoenas to be withdrawn, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Under the agreement, five outstanding subpoenas will be withdrawn and the committees will voluntarily hand over documents in addition to material already provided, according to a statement released by Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi. Two committee staffers will appear March 1 before the grand jury in San Diego that has been considering evidence stemming from the Cunningham case,...

When indicted Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes landed a contract to ship supplies to CIA agents in Iraq, he tapped his nephew and lobbyist Joel Combs to handle the job, according to people close to Wilkes and within the CIA. On July 29, 2004, Combs – who had no previous experience in overseas supply operations – formed a one-man company called Archer Logistics in Chantilly, Va., records with the Virginia State Corporation Commission show. Within months, Archer Logistics was selling bottles of water to the CIA, more than half a dozen sources have told The San Diego Union-Tribune. Those sales...

SAN DIEGO – Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes and former CIA official Kyle “Dusty” Foggo began their legal proceedings in San Diego's federal court Wednesday. After arriving at the downtown courthouse amid cameras and flanked by their attorneys, the two men entered not guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy, money laundering and defrauding the public of the honest services of a public official. Wilkes also pleaded not guilty to a charge of bribing of a public official. He is to remain free on $2 million bond, which will be secured by equity in his home and the homes of two...

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Government officials say a federal grand jury has charged a former top CIA official and a defense contractor with fraud and other offenses.

WASHINGTON - CIA officers operating in northern Iraq bought drinking water from a bottling plant there for years prior to the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. That changed soon afterward. A CIA officer handling logistics for the Middle East and other regions recommended that an American company provide water and other supplies, according to former government officials. The U.S. contractor that benefited from the multimillion-dollar deal wasn't just anyone. The company had personal ties to the officer, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who would soon leave his logistics post in Frankfurt, Germany, and move to Washington to become the CIA's third-ranking...

Federal prosecutors are preparing to seek indictments against a former top CIA official and a San Diego defense contractor at the center of the bribery scandal that sent former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to prison. Two government officials familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Wednesday that prosecutors plan to ask a San Diego grand jury to return charges of honest services fraud and conspiracy against Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and his close friend, Brent Wilkes, whose lawyers have said he is one of four unidentified co-conspirators described in the 2005 plea agreement for Cunningham, a San Diego...

The U.S. attorney's office in San Diego is close to seeking an indictment against Brent Wilkes, a Poway defense contractor whose company received millions of dollars in government contracts after allegedly bribing the now-imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham, two federal officials with intimate knowledge of the case said Tuesday. "I know we are so close," said one official, who agreed to speak with the North County Times on the condition that his name not be published. A preliminary draft indictment is under review by "many eyes on what is going to be proposed to the grand jury," according to the source....

In the latest twist to former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's tale of greed and corruption, celebrity defense attorney Mark Geragos has joined the legal team of one of the former congressman's alleged conspirators in a massive bribery scam. Geragos, whose former clients include pop star Michael Jackson, former first brother Roger Clinton and former Congressman Gary Condit, said Wednesday that he recently began representing Poway businessman Brent Wilkes. Court documents allege that Cunningham's conspirators, one of whom is believed to be Wilkes, lavished the congressman with cash, loans and gifts in recent years. In March, the eight-term former congressman...

WASHINGTON - Disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham parlayed his seat on the Intelligence Committee into winning at least $70 million in authorizations that benefited two contractors who — in turn — paid him millions in bribes. That was a key finding, released Tuesday, in a declassified summary of a report by the panel's independent investigator. It confirms what has long been suspected: The intelligence committee was one more venue that the California Republican exploited to help his associates. The report finds that Cunningham secured the cooperation — or at least the noninterference — of many people. That included Congress...

NORTH COUNTY ---- What may be his last contract with the federal government has run out. Most of his employees have quit or been laid off. He owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in back property taxes on his company's multimilllion-dollar Poway headquarters, a 97,000-square-foot building he is negotiating to sell. And in the latest blow to defense contractor Brent Wilkes ---- one of the men identified as an alleged co-conspirator of Randy "Duke" Cunningham in the bribery scandal that put the former congressman in prison ---- the Poway resident is being sued by two companies accusing him of breach...

SACRAMENTO – When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was swept into office by the recall election in 2003, he promised to end politics as usual, where “money goes in and favors go out.” But Schwarzenegger has carried on the political tradition of providing favors – in the form of coveted state appointments – to generous campaign donors. At least 13 of Schwarzenegger's appointees, their spouses and their companies have contributed more than $1.4 million to his campaigns, according to campaign disclosure forms and a review by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. Schwarzenegger has hired some donors for key positions in...

WASHINGTON The investigation stemming from the bribery conviction of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., will continue well past the November midterm elections under a federal court schedule set Monday. The development came at a status hearing for defense contractor Mitchell Wade, who is cooperating with federal prosecutors after pleading guilty in February to bribing Cunningham in exchange for government contracts. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina agreed to delay sentencing proceedings against Wade and set the next status hearing in his case for March 12. That will allow Wade's cooperation to continue in the investigation, which still has several unresolved...

WASHINGTON – Eight months after former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham confessed to taking massive bribes in exchange for providing at least $230 million in questionable defense and intelligence contracts, the Defense Department inspector general still has not determined whether any of those projects were improper. This week, the Pentagon announced that it would not renew one contract related to the scandal. But officials have been tight-lipped about the status of other taxpayer-funded work that may have been tainted, including a secret counterintelligence program. In fact, although several other Defense Department public affairs personnel and a congressional press aide have said...

SAN DIEGO – The prosecutors who sent former U.S. Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham to jail for taking bribes now are focusing their attention on his friend Brent Wilkes, a San Diego defense contractor who won nearly $100 million in contracts in the past decade. Wilkes also has links to other corruption investigations. Cunningham was sentenced in March to more than eight years in prison after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes – including payments for a 7,628-square-foot mansion, a Rolls-Royce and a 65-foot yacht – in return for funneling contracts to certain companies. Wilkes' lawyers have confirmed he...

Former U.S. Rep. Randy Cunningham continues to adjust to life behind bars at a federal prison in North Carolina where he is said to be "steeling himself" for the years of incarceration he faces, according to his attorney. Across the continent in San Diego, federal prosecutors and Cunningham's estranged wife, Nancy, are said to be inching closer to a deal resolving what happens to the money from the sale of the couple's former Rancho Santa Fe estate. K. Lee Blalack, Cunningham's Washington-based attorney, said Wednesday that the former congressman was doing well when he spoke to him by telephone last...

Congressman Jerry Lewis is at the center of a federal investigation into a lobbying giant in the nation's capital, but he's not keeping a low profile. "This is not a difficult time at all,'' Lewis said Saturday from his home in Redlands. "Since I haven't seen any of these subpoenas or had anybody contact me about them, I don't think I should comment. I have served this community for 40 years, and I expect to continue to do so.'' San Bernardino County, the city of Redlands, and Cal State San Bernardino are among local agencies and businesses that have confirmed...

The federal grand jury investigating the relationship between Rep. Jerry Lewis and a Washington lobbying firm has subpoenaed records from Riverside County and the Cal State San Bernardino Foundation, in addition to San Bernardino County and the city of Redlands, The Press-Enterprise confirmed Friday. Officials with the University of Redlands, Loma Linda University Medical Center and Redlands-based ESRI declined to say whether their organizations had been served. All are or have been clients of the lobbying firm Copeland, Lowery & Jacquez, which has been linked to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The Rancho Santa Fe Republican pleaded guilty last year...

Federal agents yesterday searched the CIA offices and Northern Virginia home of Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the spy agency's No. 3 official who was forced to resign this week amid a widening criminal investigation into allegations of government corruption and bribery. ...Aside from well-publicized espionage cases, veteran intelligence officers said they could not recall another time when FBI agents picked through offices at the CIA's Langley headquarters..Earlier this year, however, he was placed under investigation by the CIA inspector general and federal prosecutors after allegations that he helped a high school friend, Brent R. Wilkes, obtain CIA contracts and improperly accepted...

Federal agents yesterday raided the home and office of the CIA's outgoing number three in a dramatic deepening of corruption investigations at America's premier spy agency.Search warrants were executed by several federal law enforcement agencies against Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the FBI said. Mr Foggo resigned as CIA executive director on Monday, just after the still unexplained departure of agency director Porter Goss. Mr Goss, who is not accused of wrongdoing, appointed Mr Foggo to his post. Television news helicopters showed aerial images of men wearing white forensic suits entering and leaving Mr Foggo's home in suburban Virginia. Mr Foggo is...

Randy Cunningham has not been helping federal authorities as they continue to probe the former North County congressman's web of corruption, a top Pentagon investigator said Tuesday. Rick Gwin, special agent in charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's western regional office, said he is troubled by the lack of assistance, particularly in light of Cunningham's plea agreement that calls for him to tell all that he knows. "In my opinion, he has not been cooperative and I have not gotten any information from him to further develop other targets," Gwin said in a telephone interview from his office in...

Who needs the government to tell us the status of homeland security? If you're not seeing five-alarm red over the perpetual chaos at DHS, you need to call the eye doctor. The Ontario (Calif.) Daily Bulletin reported Tuesday that Border Patrol agents are now ratting out Minutemen, immigration enforcement volunteers who have broken no laws, to Mexico. Yes, we are paying our federal immigration officers to gather intelligence on our own citizens -- and then turn it over to a foreign government intent on sabotaging our sovereignty. Deportation officers across the country continue to report that "catch and release" of...

Monday, May 08, 2006 Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo is the subject of an FBI investigation related to poker parties and possible use of prostitutes to curry favor with defense and CIA contracting officials. Investigators are probing whether San Diego-based defense contractor Brent Wilkes provided prostitutes to lawmakers or Foggo in order to win federal contracts. The CIA sent out an e-mail to agency staff Monday afternoon announcing that Foggo was stepping down, but it did not say whether he was leaving the agency, U.S. officials said. Suggestions have been made that he will retire soon.

Federal authorities are investigating allegations that a California defense contractor arranged for a Washington area limousine company to provide prostitutes to convicted former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) and possibly other lawmakers, sources familiar with the probe said yesterday. In recent weeks, investigators have focused on possible dealings between Christopher D. Baker, president of Shirlington Limousine and Transportation Inc., and Brent R. Wilkes, a San Diego businessman who is under investigation for bribing Cunningham in return for millions of dollars in federal contracts, said one source, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Baker has a criminal record and...

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether two contractors implicated in the bribery of former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham supplied him with prostitutes and free use of a limousine and hotel suites, pursuing evidence that could broaden their long-running inquiry. Besides scrutinizing the prostitution scheme for evidence that might implicate contractor Brent Wilkes, investigators are focusing on whether any other members of Congress, or their staffs, may also have used the same free services, though it isn't clear whether investigators have turned up anything to implicate others. In recent weeks, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have fanned out across Washington, interviewing women...

The contracts former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham bullied the Defense Department into awarding two contractors who showered him with money and gifts were not in the national interest, according to documents filed by prosecutors Tuesday. Instead, the prosecutors said, “Cunningham and his co-conspirators fleeced the people of the United States to the tune of millions of dollars, earning profit margins on some contracts in excess of 800 percent.” In the most detailed description yet of the former congressman's bribery case, prosecutors offered graphic examples of how Cunningham browbeat and intimidated government officials and his own staff into ensuring that millions...

Congressman's lawyer dismisses subpoena that may broaden the investigationWASHINGTON - The Texas prosecutor who obtained an indictment against Rep. Tom DeLay is now looking at connections between the former House majority leader and a defense contractor linked to the bribery of a California lawmaker. But the lawyer for DeLay criticized the potential expansion of the criminal investigation involving the Sugar Land Republican as a fishing expedition with a political motive. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat, subpoenaed on Monday records of California businessman Brent Wilkes and three Wilkes-controlled companies that made a political contribution to a Texas fundraising...

WASHINGTON – A Texas prosecutor has issued subpoenas for bank records of a defense contractor involved in the bribery case of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham as part of the investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. District Attorney Ronnie Earle issued subpoenas last Thursday for California businessmen Brent Wilkes and Max Gelwix, records of Perfect Wave Technologies, Wilkes Corp. and ADCS Inc. in connection with a contribution to a fundraising committee at the center of the investigation that led to DeLay's indictment on money laundering charges. Perfect Wave contributed $15,000 in September 2002 to Texans for a Republican...

While the problems surrounding Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham have gotten plenty of play in the media, it begs the question of why the House ethics committee, was silent on it. "Five months ago, as the scope of the federal investigation into Cunningham's conduct became clear, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called for the House ethics committee to launch an investigation. Under House rules, an outside person or agency isn't allowed to make an ethics complaint. So the group shopped around among members of Congress to see if someone was interested in filing a complaint against Cunningham. No...

<p>SACRAMENTO — A businessman tied to the bribery scandal involving former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham donated more than $70,000 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign committees and received two gubernatorial appointments.</p> <p>At Schwarzenegger's behest, Brent Wilkes, founder of the government contractor ADCS Inc., resigned Nov. 29 from the Del Mar Fair Board and from another panel that oversees the leasing of state land for racetracks, said Margita Thompson, the governor's press secretary.</p>

ROSEDALE, N.Y. – In its third wave of raids linked to the investigation of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, federal agents on Thursday searched the New York home and office of a controversial businessman who has had a series of financial dealings with the congressman. Agents seized records belonging to Thomas Kontogiannis, a Long Island developer who pleaded guilty in 2002 to bribery and kickback charges in connection with a $6.3 million bid-rigging scheme involving the New York public schools. Kontogiannis has known Cunningham since shortly after the Rancho Santa Fe Republican arrived in Washington 15 years ago as a freshman...

WASHINGTON – When Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham first responded to questions about his dealings with defense contractor Mitchell Wade, he stressed that his position on the House defense appropriations subcommittee did not enable him to secure contracts for Wade's company, MZM Inc. "I do not have the authority or ability to award a contract to Mr. Wade's company and no single member of Congress, no matter how influential, can dictate to the armed services who will be awarded contracts," the Rancho Santa Fe Republican said during a June 23 news conference. While Cunningham's claim is technically correct under the government's...

The U.S. Attorney's Office has filed a secret lawsuit against Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham that contends he should forfeit his Rancho Santa Fe home to the government because it was purchased with illegally obtained money. Notice of the lawsuit and the government's interest in the property was filed with the San Diego County Recorder's Office. Cunningham's attorney, Lee Blalack, declined to comment yesterday on the lawsuit but said he had filed a motion challenging the U.S. government's legal claim on the house. The home – a five-bedroom, eight-bath Spanish colonial estate on Via Del Charro – was listed for sale...

Claim filed on Cunningham house          U.S. lawsuit seeks forfeiture of property By Dani Dodge UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER August 18, 2005 Randy "Duke" Cunningham's Rancho Santa Fe home was listed for $3.5 million. Embattled MZM sold to investment group The U.S. Attorney's Office has filed a secret lawsuit against Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham that contends he should forfeit his Rancho Santa Fe home to the government because it was purchased with illegally obtained money. Notice of the lawsuit and the government's interest in the property was filed with the San Diego County Recorder's Office. Cunningham's attorney, Lee Blalack, declined to...