Disgraced Ex-Rep. Ill-Served by Brashness
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD
Associated Press Writer
March 4, 2006, 2:35 PM EST
As a Navy fighter pilot in Vietnam, Randy "Duke" Cunningham became a legend for fearlessly diving into aerial combat, his aggressiveness seemingly held in check only by gravity.
Years later, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he tested a different kind of limit -- his own capacity for excess.
The man who had represented the wealthy suburbs north of San Diego was sentenced Friday to eight years and four months in federal prison. After resigning from the House in disgrace, he pleaded guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes -- a crime without peer in congressional history.
"I have ripped my life to shreds," the 64-year-old Republican said in court.
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