Prosecutors: Cunningham Bullied Officials

[Judi Lynn]

Prosecutors: Cunningham Bullied Officials
Prosecutors: Former Congressman Randy Cunningham Bullied Officials on Contractors' Behalf

SAN DIEGO Mar 1, 2006 (AP)— Former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham bullied Defense Department officials as he worked to ensure deals for contractors who had bribed him with gifts and cash, federal prosecutors said in court papers Tuesday.

Cunningham, 64, a once-powerful member of the House Defense Appropriations Committee, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday for accepting $2.4 million in bribes in exchange for steering government work to defense contractors.

Prosecutor's said there was no way to distinguish between defense contracts funded through Cunningham's intervention or legitimate means, according to court documents.

They claim Cunningham berated Pentagon employees and tried to get them fired for withholding money from two contractors.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1673075

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Cunningham's life is ruined. I hope those old candle sticks and

stinky old furniture was worth it.

[Sydnie]

3. He doesn't get to keep them

They will have to be sold to pay his fines, just as that special house he bought will. Wonder how long before wifey serves him with papers for making her BROKE and HOMELESS in her later years?

[MagickMuffin]

5. According to this article, she's already history

These people really know how to stick together!

“He's lost his job. He's lost his home. He's lost his money. He's lost his wife. And on top of all the misery, he's about to lose his freedom,” McKinnon wrote to the court. “He's lost everything. He's a broken man.”


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/cunningham/20060220-9999-1m20produke.html

Boo Freaking Hoo! He should have thought about that when he was committing his crime spree at TAXPAYERS expense...

[Sydnie]

2. Second conspiracy?

Wade pleaded guilty last week to plying Cunningham with a yacht, cash, cars, antiques and meals more than $1 million in gifts over four years. He also admitted his role in a second, separate conspiracy in which he did favors for defense officials in return for their help in awarding contracts to his company. The Pentagon employees were not named in court filings.

Why weren't they named and what is this SECOND conspiracy? Could that have anything to do with the wire that Cunningham wore? Don't we have a right to know who else was on the take?

[Judi Lynn]

4. San Diego Union-Tribune: Prosecutors: Cunningham placed profit over nation

Prosecutors: Cunningham placed profit over national interest

By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

7:05 p.m. February 28, 2006

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 of dollars went into the pockets of select contractors.
(snip)

One of Cunningham's staff members told investigators of hiding under his desk to escape Cunningham's wrath because one of the contractors had not received a government appropriation. And Pentagon officials told of the former Navy flying ace's efforts to have them fired and going over their heads because they questioned the legitimacy of some of the contracts.
(snip/...)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/cunningham/20060228-1905-duke-early.html

[freefall]

6. Did you see the mention of Katherine Harris' in that article, Judi Lynn?

"Former defense contractor Mitchell Wade pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington, D.C., Friday to conspiring to funnel more than $1 million in bribes to Cunningham and making illegal campaign contributions to two other members of Congress.

While not named in the plea agreement, the two representatives are identifiable through campaign finance records as Republican Reps. Virgil Goode of Virginia and Katherine Harris of Florida. Neither has been accused of criminal wrongdoing."

It would be so nice if they were charged with criminal wrongdoing. I can hope can't I?

Peace

freefall

[Judi Lynn]

8. Thanks for pointing it out. If she's ALSO involved in taking dirty money

here, she ABSOLUTELY needs to be named for it, and charged. The part she played in that vast Florida Presidential election
theft will NEVER, NEVER be forgotten by people like me.

I have never felt as much sheer horror and disgust at a public government official as I did watching her smugly misuse her office in 2000. I would love to be able to hurl a potent curse on those involved, but I don't believe it's possible.

If they EVER start paying for their crimes, I might suddenly find my religion. Spontaneously. Ecstatically.

Will it ever happen? Maybe, if enough pigs like Cunningham get in over their heads and start informing on the others to get a better deal! I'd sure like to hope, too.

[Mithras61]

10. Is the investigation...

still on-going? I'm thinking that pary of why they agreed to not go to trial was in exchange for his cooperation in the investigation of the other crimes that involve Goode & Harris. I wonder how far this one investigation will lead (that is, does it tie up with Abramoff, or is this conspiracy a separate deal).

[salin]

7. *Road Map*

investigative journalists are being handed a road map as to how these things are accomplished... do they really think it was just "Duke" doing this?

[Nikki Stone 1]

9. Cunningham is the worst kind of scum and needs to be in prison

for a long time.

[Catherine Vincent]

11. Geeze.

I wonder why repuke callers on cspan never mention Cunningham? You constantly hear them talk about their exaagerated tale about Clinton turning the WH into a whore house, Why not talk about this upstanding republican, Cunningham?