by D. Cupples | Wednesday, the Washington Post reported:
"Brent R. Wilkes, a California defense contractor and prominent GOP campaign contributor, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison yesterday for lavishing a Republican congressman with money, prostitutes and other bribes in exchange for nearly $90 million in work from the Pentagon...."
"Wilkes, 53, was convicted in November of 13 felony crimes including bribery, conspiracy and fraud for giving the gifts to former representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), who is serving an eight-year prison term for accepting millions in bribes from Wilkes and others.
"The sentence by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns in San Diego was far smaller than the 25-year term federal prosecutors had sought or the 60-year term urged by federal probation officers...." (Washington Post)
Cunningham pleaded guilty in 2005 to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from Wilkes and others. The Wilkes case grew out of the Cunningham case -- which was prosecuted by former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, who was fired after pursuing the Cunningham case. The Washington Post continued:
"Wilkes is a Republican Party "Pioneer" who raised more than $100,000 for President Bush's reelection in 2004 and donated -- in concert with his business colleagues -- $656,396 to 64 other Republican lawmakers and the national Republican Party committees in Washington from 1995 through the third quarter of 2005, according to campaign finance records.
"Wilkes was separately charged in a corruption case involving his childhood friend Kyle 'Dusty' Foggo, a former executive director at the CIA who allegedly received meals, trips and other goods from Wilkes. But Burns approved a deal yesterday in which Foggo's prosecution will be moved to Alexandria, while Wilkes will be dropped from the case."
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