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Bribery ends House career

Eight-term Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigns after pleading guilty to taking millions in bribes.

By wire services
Published November 29, 2005

SAN DIEGO - Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, an eight-term Republican from San Diego, resigned from Congress on Monday, hours after pleading guilty to taking at least $2.4-million in bribes to help friends and campaign contributors win defense contracts.

Cunningham, a highly decorated Navy fighter pilot in Vietnam, tearfully acknowledged his guilt in a statement read outside the federal courthouse in San Diego.

"The truth is I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my office," the 63-year-old said. "I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions, most importantly, the trust of my friends and family."

Cunningham pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, tax evasion, wire fraud and mail fraud. He could get up to 10 years in prison at sentencing Feb. 27 and faces millions of dollars in fines and forfeitures.

Prosecutors said he received cash, cars, rugs, antiques, furniture, yacht club fees, moving expenses and vacations from four unnamed co-conspirators in exchange for aid in winning defense contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. None of this income was reported to the IRS or on the congressman's financial disclosure forms, the government said.

Cunningham was charged in a case that grew out of an investigation into the sale of his home to a defense contractor at an inflated price.

The congressman had already announced in July, after the investigation became public, that he would not seek re-election next year. But until he entered his plea, he had insisted he had done nothing wrong.

Cunningham's plea adds to the ethics cloud over the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush White House. Other ethics cases include the indictment of Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and the investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Democratic leaders were quick to argue that Cunningham's crime is part of a pattern.

"This offense is just the latest example of the culture of corruption that pervades the Republican-controlled Congress, which ignores the needs of the American people to serve wealthy special interests and their cronies," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Conservative activist Paul Weyrich, head of the Free Congress Foundation, said he thinks the Democratic charge may stick. "Frankly, Republicans are held to a higher standard, mainly because they are the ones who always preach morality," Weyrich said.

But Keith Ashdown, with Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group, said Cunningham's guilty plea hurts both parties.

"There are very few things that I read that kick me in the gut. This is beyond my wildest guess of how bad it actually is - how bad, how long and how nobody knew about it," said Ashdown. "I don't think Democrats or Republicans win on this. It basically makes people detest Congress even more and deters voter turnout."

Among other things, prosecutors said, Cunningham was given $1.025-million to pay down the mortgage on his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., mansion, $13,500 to buy a Rolls-Royce and $2,081 for his daughter's graduation party at a Washington hotel.

"He did the worst thing an elected official can do - he enriched himself through his position and violated the trust of those who put him there," U.S. Attorney Carol Lam said.

Cunningham was allowed to remain free while he awaits sentencing. He also agreed to forfeit his mansion, more than $1.8-million in cash, and antiques and rugs.

He is the first congressman to leave office amid bribery allegations since 2002, when former Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of racketeering and accepting bribes.

The case began when authorities started investigating Cunningham's sale of his Del Mar, Calif., house to defense contractor Mitchell Wade for $1.675-million. Wade sold the house nearly a year later for $975,000 - a loss of $700,000 in a hot real estate market. Prosecutors said the house purchase was part of Cunningham's guilty pleas.

In addition to buying Cunningham's home at an inflated price, Wade let him live rent-free on Wade's yacht, the Duke Stir, at a yacht club. Wade's company, MZM Inc., also donated generously to Cunningham's campaigns.

Around the same time, MZM was winning defense contracts.

MZM does classified intelligence work for the military. It had $65.5-million in contracts for intelligence-related defense work in fiscal 2004, ranking No. 38 on the Pentagon's list.

--Information from the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and New York Times was used in this report.

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 02:15:28]