Cunningham, Randall Harold

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Revision as of 17:31, 17 February 2007

Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigned in disgrace yesterday after admitting he took more than $2.4 million in bribes to help defense contractors land lucrative government contracts.

Cunningham on way to work camp, lawyer says

Low-security prison will be new home

Ex-lawmaker Randy "Duke" Cunningham is serving eight years for taking bribes.

January 6, 2007 Former Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham is headed to a federal prison camp outside Tucson, Ariz., his lawyer said yesterday.

Cunningham was sentenced March 3 to eight years, four months in prison for conspiracy and tax evasion after admitting he took more than $2.4 million in bribes from federal contractors.

“He's doing reasonably well,” lawyer K. Lee Blalack said in an interview. “He's adjusting to life in prison and trying to make the best of his circumstance and continue down the path that he started when he entered his plea and apologized to the world and his family and his constituents.” (Cunninham has not accepted responsibility. ed)

Cunningham once represented North County in the House and was chairman of subcommittee that oversaw Pentagon spending.

The 65-year-old Republican has spent the past 10 months in a prison in Butner, N.C., where doctors evaluated his health and assessed the best place to house him.

Blalack initially asked prison officials to place him in a privately run prison in Taft, near Bakersfield, so he could be close to friends and family in San Diego.

Yesterday, Cunningham was at a prison transfer facility at the airport in Oklahoma City.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesman in Washington wouldn't confirm that Cunningham was headed to Tucson. A spokesman at the Tucson work camp said he would answer questions submitted by e-mail, but never did.

Camps are among the lowest-security facilities in the federal prison system and are typically home to prisoners with a short time left in their sentences, said criminologist Jeffrey Ian Ross.

“It just seems kind of odd that (he's going to) a work camp,” Ross said of Cunningham. “It might have a lot to do with how he was assessed in that 10 months.” A federal judge in San Diego had requested the evaluation.

Ross called the notion of a “Club Fed” – easy time in an comfortable environment – a myth.

At work camps, prisoners typically live in barracks and are told when they wake up, go to sleep, eat, shower and work.

But he said the camp would be full of people in similar situations as the corrupt politician.

“He will be in with other kinds of white-collar criminals,” said Ross, who co-authored “Behind Bars: Surviving Prison” and teaches at the University of Baltimore.

“It's a different class of criminal who is sentenced there,” he said.

Inmates at prison camps typically cook, clean and do groundskeeping, he said.

The Tucson camp houses about 120 inmates and is on a sprawling federal complex.

Inmates at the camp work there and at an adjacent medium-security prison with about 700 inmates. A high-security prison is set to open at the complex this year.

In 1995, Cunningham was co-author of the No Frills Prison Act targeting what some saw as “luxurious” conditions in prisons. It sought to ban unmonitored phone calls, TVs in cells, R-rated movies, food better than what enlisted Army personnel get or unauthorized hygiene products or clothing.

The measure failed.

Meanwhile, the investigation into his misdeeds continues, with federal agents recently serving subpoenas on three House committees.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070106-9999-7m6duke.html

Bilbray, Cunningham on the move again

It's not just Cunningham, you know

Cunningham's corruption began earlier than first realized

February 17, 2007 NORTH COUNTY ---- A review of this week's federal indictment of a Poway man shows that the alleged web of corruption surrounding imprisoned former Congressman Randy Cunningham apparently began nearly five years earlier than was previously known.

Poway Defense contractor Brent Wilkes, right, walks with attorney Mark Geragos to the San Diego federal courthouse in downtown on Wednesday.

Cunningham pleaded guilty in late 2005 to taking part in a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme that involved bribes in exchange for defense contracts. He is now serving an eight-year, four-month sentence in a federal prison near Tucson, Ariz.

Court documents from his 2005 plea agreement cite the first overt act of corruption of Cunningham as having occurred in May 2000, when Brent Wilkes, the Poway defense contractor referred to as co-conspirator No. 1 in the documents, allegedly gave him two personal checks totaling $100,000. But Tuesday's indictment pegs the start of Wilkes' alleged bribery of the former 50th District representative as "at least as early as September 1996."

Cunningham, a conservative Republican, was first elected to represent portions of North County in Congress in 1990 and served eight consecutive terms until he resigned in late 2005.

While the 2005 court documents do not identify Wilkes by name, his former attorney, Michael Lipman, told reporters that Wilkes was the person referred to as co-conspirator No. 1.

Tuesday's indictment of Wilkes accuses the Poway resident of 25 charges that include 17 counts of fraud, three counts of laundering more than $12 million, one count of bribery, one count of bribing a public official and three counts of unlawful monetary transactions.

On Wednesday, he was arraigned in a San Diego courtroom for the alleged crimes. If convicted on all counts and was to serve maximum consecutive sentences, Wilkes' time behind bars could add up to more than 400 years.

In a Wednesday posting on the Web site of his attorney, Mark Geragos, Wilkes bitterly contested the accusations, saying that he will be vindicated and that prosecutors are trying to force him "to plead guilty to something I did not do."

Also arraigned Wednesday in the same case was New York banker John T. Michael, who was charged with obstruction of justice and faces five years in prison.

In a related but separate case, former CIA Executive Director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo was also arraigned on seven counts of fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit fraud; and three counts of unlawful monetary transactions. Foggo faces the possibility of nearly 150 years in prison if convicted on all counts and if he were to serve maximum consecutive sentences.

Before the three men were photographed, fingerprinted and released Wednesday, federal Judge Larry Alan Burns established conditions for their release. Wilkes must post a $2 million bond, Foggo $200,000 and Michael, $250,000.

The federal grand jury indictment alleges that Wilkes' first overt acts of corruption began as early as September 1996, when he allegedly paid thousands of dollars in meals for Cunningham at Washington restaurants.

According to the indictment, over the years, Wilkes allegedly went on to ply Cunningham with everything from trips to lavish resorts, rides in private jets, cash and prostitutes.

Alleged bribes and pressure

The 1996 date is significant because, according to Tuesday's indictment, it was also around that same time that Cunningham began pressuring Defense Department personnel to provide funding to Wilkes' company, ADCS Inc.

At the time, Wilkes is alleged to have tried to get the federal government to pay ADCS to scan documents and convert them to a digital format. And Cunningham was beginning to pressure Department of Defense officials to fund such a document scanning program.

The indictment also lists other alleged favors and gifts that continued over the following months and years:

- Early 1997: Wilkes allegedly paid a Washington limousine service to chauffeur Cunningham around the nation's capital.

- July 1997: Wilkes allegedly directed an employee to buy a yellow Sea-Doo Speedster for $11,255 and give it to Cunningham.

- August 1998, Wilkes allegedly told an ADCS employee to buy Cunningham a $1,500 notebook computer.

Parallel to those alleged favors, Cunningham and Wilkes allegedly began putting pressure on government officials to obtain funding for document scanning programs.

- May 1998: Cunningham wrote to the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, requesting $64 million for document conversion.

- August 1998: Wilkes allegedly threatened a Defense Department program manager with reprisals if he refused to pay ADCS invoices.

- November 1998: Wilkes allegedly threatened a document conversion program manager with "Congressional reprisal if he did not allocate sufficient funding to ADCS projects, and immediately pay all outstanding ADCS invoices (even when it could not be verified that the work had actually been done ... or the goods had actually been purchased,)" the indictment states.

- On the same day: Cunningham allegedly contacted the same program manager ... and attempted to pressure him into paying the ADCS-related invoices, it states in the indictment.

- February 1999: At Cunningham's direction, staff members allegedly contacted the Defense Department program manager and pressured him to allocate additional funds to ADCS.

- March 1999: Wilkes allegedly "attempted to intimidate a (Defense Department) program manager" in Panama where Wilkes' company was doing document scanning for the U.S. government by "telling him that people disappear in Panama all the time and never make it back home," it states in the indictment.

- The next day, after talking to Wilkes, Cunningham allegedly called the same program manager in Panama and urged him to pay all outstanding ADCS invoices, "(even though the work had not been performed and/or verified by the government program manager,)" the indictment states.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/17/news/top_stories/23_05_382_16_07.txt

It's not just Cunningham, you know

October 21, 2006 Randy, we hardly knew ye. As the months go by it becomes increasingly apparent that there is a lot more to the story of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the disgraced and imprisoned congressman from the 50th district.

With each development ---- some that fall into the major category and some that smack of the footnote ---- suspicion grows that more doors will be opened, perhaps many more. Duke may turn out to have been a greater crook than "the worst in congressional history," as he is now titled.

Last week we had another chance to peek through the cracks at Cunningham's past behavior toward his own staff. What was reported by a congressional intelligence panel was that over the years this war-hero-turned-bagman bullied his staffers to draw them into his schemes.

Essentially, he wanted their help in steering contracts to defense-contractor pals because they were his benefactors. They were the guys who bribed him. A few cowed staffers could not be permitted to stand in his way, as he saw it. The report says that some of his staff came around, in the sense of making deals easier for Cunningham; it says the staff knew what he was up to.

Hints, rumors and the odd leak had already given glimpses into Cunningham's office manner and the role his staff may have played. Last week's report in this area was therefore not alarming. It was more of a certification.

What interested careful readers as much as the devilish details was what the report characterized as a total lack of cooperation in the probe from the House Appropriations Committee. That was the committee that Cunningham, somehow, persuaded to appropriate the funds necessary to contracting with his bribers. And he did so many times.

Said the principal investigator: "We have also requested that the (committee) permit us to speak with some current and former staff, but we have not received a response to this request."

He also was not permitted to interview Cunningham.

This is alarming. Here is a Congress caught up in assorted scandals ---- think DeLay, Foley, Ney, with perhaps more to come (not before elections) ---- that seems bent on ignoring investigations into its worst. It seems unwilling to, or perhaps constitutionally incapable of, laying bare those parts of a system that have rotted before its eyes.

Cunningham himself, of course, takes the cake. First he denied everything and swore he'd be vindicated. The feds quietly explained that they had the goods on him, so he changed his mind, lost 60 pounds and tearfully announced he was guilty.

He went to prison. There he suffers, he says, but gathered himself in early October, took pen in hand and wrote to the reporter from Copley News Service, Marcus Stern, who uncovered the scandal that broke in the Union Tribune.

He said he was angry and bitter toward those he blamed for bringing about his downfall. He insisted he had done nothing wrong, and that all actions he took were good for the country.

The Union-Tribune reported: "He warned that the 'truth will come out and you will find out how liablest [libelous] you have & will be.' " This was aimed at the newspaper; the story of his letter was published Oct. 7.

The document was astonishing in that a once-weeping Cunningham sniffling mea culpa now seemed unable or unwilling to accept that he was the bad guy. The bribers made him do it. The press brought him down. It was a very long whine: He seemed to have lost touch altogether.

But if he has, he is not alone ---- or so the populace seems to believe.

On Tuesday of last week, an Opinion Research poll reported that 74 percent of the American people believe that Congress is out of touch, which would square with the Cunningham state.

That's roughly the same percentage that in 1994 responded similarly to a question in a CNN poll. That year was also the last in which a minority party took control of Congress: Republicans threw the rascals out.

Clueless, then. The voters believe Congress to be clueless.

Key issues in the upcoming election are these, as assessed by the Washington Post: the war in Iraq, national security, the economy, illegal immigration, Bush's leadership, scandals, health care and social issues.

If these are the main issues ---- it seems a reasonable list ---- the Congress as presently assembled would do well to clue itself in, to get in touch.

Polls are hardly the last word, but, if taken seriously, this one by Opinion Research ought to sound the trumpets. Among other things, congressional committees would be wise to cooperate quickly and fully with investigations into wide, wide corruption.

Waiting until after the election may be too late; batches of Congress members may be sent packing in November by a disgusted electorate.

Contact staff writer John Van Doorn at (760) 739-6647 or jvandoorn@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/10/22/perspective/vandoorn/18_21_1710_20_06.txt

Ex-congressman lashes out

In prison letter, he blames contractor for downfall, reporter for his pain

October 07, 2006 WASHINGTON – In a handwritten letter to the reporter who exposed his corruption, former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham portrays life in prison as an agonizing time of regret, anger and bitterness toward those he blames for his downfall.

“I hurt more than anyone could imagine,” Cunningham wrote from federal prison in North Carolina.

In the letter, the former Rancho Santa Fe Republican lashes out at the The San Diego Union-Tribune, which broke the story on June 12, 2005, but aims his sharpest barbs at one of his co-conspirators.

His comments came in a letter to Marcus Stern, the Copley News Service reporter who uncovered the tainted 2003 sale of Cunningham's Del Mar-area home to defense contractor Mitchell Wade. Cunningham applied proceeds of the sale toward purchase of a $2.55 million mansion in Rancho Santa Fe. Wade bought the Del Mar-area home for $1.675 million and sold it eight months later at a $700,000 loss.

Stern had written to Cunningham in prison requesting an interview. “Each time you print it hurts my family and now I have lost them along with everything I have worked for during my 64 years of life,” he wrote. “I am human not an animal to keep whipping.”

In a settlement announced in federal court yesterday, Cunningham's estranged wife, Nancy, agreed to give up any interest in the sale proceeds of the couple's Del Mar-area and Rancho Santa Fe homes and acknowledged that she and her husband owe the U.S. government almost $1.7 million in back taxes, interest and penalties.

Cunningham's four-page letter is marked by occasional spelling and punctuation lapses. In it, Cunningham expresses regret for his actions but stops short of acknowledging any wrongdoing other than accepting “gifts” from Wade.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20061007-9999-1n7letter.html

Wife admits wrongdoing but won't be prosecuted

October 07, 2006 Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham's wife forfeited her rights to the proceeds from the $2.55 million Rancho Santa Fe house she and her husband bought with the bribes that toppled him from office and sent him to prison.

She agreed to give up $760,000 in equity in the house to pay a portion of the nearly $1.7 million the couple owe in back taxes, interest and penalties.

Although her husband pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion nearly a year ago in one of the worst congressional scandals in history, this is the first time Nancy Cunningham acknowledged breaking the law.

She also plans to divorce her estranged husband.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20061007-9999-1n7nancy.html

Pentagon silent on inquiry into Cunningham contracts

It still isn't known if bribery tainted defense projects

04 August, 2006 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 in the past that an investigation into the Cunningham-linked contracts was being conducted, the inspector general's spokesman said yesterday that “as a matter of policy, we do not confirm or deny the existence of ongoing investigations.”

“If one exists, it would be improper to comment,” Army Lt. Col. Brian Maka said. “Obviously, if one does not exist, there would be nothing to say.”

By Otto Kreisher COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

Cunningham probe could lead to officials in Defense, intelligence

An investigation into the dealings of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., may implicate Defense Department and other agency officials who awarded contracts or were otherwise involved with funds channeled to corrupt contractors, according to a House inquiry.

The executive summary of an investigation by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence was released Tuesday by ranking member Jane Harman, D-Calif. The summary offers insight into the findings of independent investigator, Special Counsel Michael Stern.

Stern was hired by Harman and committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., to examine the activities of Cunningham, who pleaded guilty last November to accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes from contractors. Mitchell Wade, the former president of government contractor MZM Inc., pleaded guilty in February to bribing Cunningham and corrupting Defense Department officials

The investigation summary said that, to facilitate their illicit activities, the men needed to "secure the cooperation, or at least the noninterference, of many people," including the various Defense officials "responsible for execution of the money, awarding the contracts and preparing the statements of work; and officials of the agencies for which the contracts were to be performed."

"This was a lot of people to persuade, cajole, deceive, pressure, intimidate, bribe or otherwise influence to do what they wanted," Stern wrote in the report.

Despite the bipartisan origins of Stern's investigation, Hoekstra and Harman have battled over the release of the full report, which was completed in May and presented to the full committee shortly thereafter, according to a statement by Harman. In July, a 23-page unclassified version of Stern's original 59-page report was prepared, as well as the executive report that Harman released this week.

Hoekstra condemned that release as "disturbing and beyond the pale," stating that the inquiry hasn't been finalized pending review of an offer by Cunningham to give the committee information. But he also noted that Cunningham had indicated an intention to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to silence if forced to testify under oath.

According to the investigation summary, Cunningham used Intelligence Committee authorizations to channel contracts toward Wade and Brent Wilkes, an alleged co-conspirator and founder of defense contractor ADCS Inc., in exchange for bribes. The investigation found that committee staff "either actively cooperated with or did not resist" Cunningham's actions, and noted that he used his clout as a member of the Defense appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over several of the Intelligence Committee's key priorities to push his own agenda.

The report cited "red flags" associated with Cunningham's pet earmarks, and said committee staff were unable to conduct appropriate oversight over a Cunningham-backed counterintelligence project at an unspecified agency because project staff were reluctant to share negative information with the committee and committee staff were unwilling or unable to follow up on negative agency feedback when it was provided.

The summary indicated that former committee staffer Brant Bassett had relationships with Wilkes, CIA official Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who is under a separate investigation in the matter, and, to a lesser extent, Cunningham.

It also alluded to dealings between Cunningham and "certain foreign nationals," and a congressional official told the Associated Press that Stern had looked into two trips that Cunningham took to Saudi Arabia in 2004.

The main focus of the investigation, however, was not federal officials' roles, but the possibility of committee staff involvement. Spokesman Jamal Ware could not say how much detail the full report provides on the level of executive branch involvement. "It was not meant to be a federal review," Ware said.

He said Cunningham "made contact with the committee and made an offer to provide input" as long as he was not subpoenaed, and that the matter was under review by committee lawyers. He said he did not know when that matter would be resolved, or when the full investigation report might be released.

According to the summary, investigators requested information from Defense, CIA and the Director of National Intelligence and received listings of contracts linked to Wilkes and Wade, but Defense "has been unwilling to share information to date, due to the pending criminal investigations."

According to FedSpending.org, a federal spending database hosted by watchdog group OMB Watch, alleged co-conspirator Wilkes' company received $89.4 million in Defense and General Services Administration contracts between fiscal years 2000 and 2005, the entire time span available. Virtually all of those contracts were awarded in open competitions in which only one bid was received, or without competition, according to the database.

The contract database did not include information for Wade's company, MZM. FedSpending doesn't capture certain classified contracts, and the data is not guaranteed to be up-to-date or to accurately reflect agency contracting actions.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=35294&dcn=todaysnews

Cunningham adjusting to life at North Carolina prison

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.

"His state of mind is good in the sense that he is a man in prison," Blalack said in a telephone interview. "While that weighs heavy on him, he is adjusting to prison life and has done so reasonably quickly."

Cunningham was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison in March after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in San Diego to bribery and tax evasion. In the pleadings, he admitted taking more than $2.4 million in bribes and cheating on his taxes.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/07/06/news/top_stories/785102005.txt

Washington Babylon

California Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham traded military contracts for $2.4 million in antiques, cash, and other booty. He is now in jail, but his case exposed a world of bribery, booze, and broads that reaches into the Pentagon, the C.I.A., and Congress. Washington is wondering: Who's next?

http://www.vanityfair.com/features/general/articles/060705fege01

Staffers believed Cunningham right until the end

Greg Parks was a year out of college when he joined the staff of Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham in 2001, hoping to learn about public policy and maybe, just maybe, run for office himself one day.

Parks adored Cunningham, a former Vietnam fighter pilot. Cunningham, he felt, was truly a nice man, a guy who treated his staff to a round of drinks on the anniversary of the day he became a Navy ace. Parks believed in his boss's honesty until the day Cunningham pleaded guilty after admitting that he accepted $2.4 million in bribes.

Parks, now 27, has moved back to his hometown and works as a policy coordinator for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. He thinks about Cunningham with a mixture of sadness, disappointment and anger – “anger that he would lie to my face.”

More than a dozen people worked for Cunningham when the Rancho Santa Fe Republican pleaded guilty Nov. 28. Almost none of them have spoken publicly about the scandal, either because they have been told by congressional officials not to talk to the media or because they have no interest in reliving that dark chapter of their lives.

A number of former staffers contacted either didn't return phone messages or declined to comment. The only one willing to speak publicly was Parks.

His tenure as a member of Cunningham's staff began with him going to Washington, D.C., with idealistic intentions and ended with him leaving a few years later wondering how many other politicians were on the take.

“It made me think it could be anybody,” Parks said. “If he could have done it, anybody could.”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060521/news_1m21staffer.html

Another probe in Cunningham case

On Wednesday, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct announced it had launched an investigation to determine if other congressional members or staffers aided Cunningham in improperly influencing the awarding of government contracts.

However, a watchdog group predicted the committee ultimately will drop the probe, citing an ongoing Justice Department investigation taking precedence over its work.

Investigators with several federal agencies are continuing to examine lawmakers and others who may have aided Cunningham in his criminal activities.

A statement issued by the committee said the panel intends to act forcefully if it uncovers wrongdoing.

"Should we become aware, either through the inquiry we have undertaken or through any other source, of facts supporting a more formal investigation of one or more members, officers or employees, we intend to take all appropriate steps under committee rules, including recommending the establishment of one or more investigative subcommittees."

A spokeswoman for the Washington office of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said she doubts that would happen and contended that the committee statement released by Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Washington, was nothing more than a public relations exercise.

"It's pretty funny considering Cunningham is already sitting in jail," said the group's Naomi Seligman Steiner. "And anyone the committee might look at is already under investigation by the Justice Department."

nctimes

Prison-bound Cunningham shuttled away in shackles

March 11, 2006 In the Vietnam war, Randy “Duke” Cunningham piloted Navy F-4 Phantom jet fighters to fight the enemy.

While a congressman, he lounged aboard private jets hired by contractors who bribed him for government contracts.

On Thursday, he flew in shackles alongside other criminals on “Con Air,” the nickname for the government airline used to transport prisoners around the country.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20060311-9999-7m11duke.html

Cunningham taken into custody, ordered to repay $1.8 million

March 3, 2006 Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham was taken into custody Friday after being sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for accepting bribes from defense contractors.

The judge told Cunningham: “You weren't wet. You weren't cold. You weren't hungry and yet you did these things. “I think what you've done is you've undermined the opportunity that honest politicians have to do a good job. The amount of money involved emasculates prior bribery crimes.”

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, probably did more than anyone to help Cunningham win his seat 16 years ago and to groom him while he was in Congress. To the very end, Hunter is intent on supporting his hunting partner and fellow war veteran.

Hunter declined to voice an opinion on the “bribe menu.” He faulted federal prosecutors, saying they are “putting their case forward in the newspapers, which they're not supposed to do.”

Prosecutors: Greed only motivation

Rep. Cunningham resigns; took $2.4 million in bribes

Sentencing: Set for Feb. 27; he could get 10 years in prison Reaction: Most in district express shock and dismay What's next: Special election will be sometime next year

November 29, 2005 Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Rancho Santa Fe, resigned from Congress yesterday after tearfully confessing to accepting bribes. After entering his guilty plea in a federal court in San Diego, he proclaimed: "In my life, I have known great joy and great sorrow. And now I know great shame."

"This was a crime of unprecedented magnitude and extraordinary audacity," U.S. Attorney Carol Lam said after the haggard-looking Vietnam war fighter ace pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion charges in San Diego federal court.

While prosecutors had confirmed for several months they were investigating Cunningham's dealings with contractors, the scope of the corruption revealed yesterday was staggering.

Lam described a five-year conspiracy that included bribes in the form of cash, mortgage payments, antiques, yachts, a Rolls-Royce, a college graduation party for Cunningham's daughter and two antique French commodes worth $7,200.

"Duke" Cunningham is a Congressman we can be proud of.

He received his Bachelor of Science and Masters Degrees from the University of Missouri. He then became a successful swim coach, having coached 36 All Americans and 2 Olympic gold and silver Medalist. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration.

"Duke" fought for his country as a Naval Aviator during and after the Vietnam War. He served until his retirement from the U.S. Navy as a Commander in 1987. One of the most highly decorated pilots in the Vietnam War, he completed two combat cruises with Fighter Squadron 96 aboard the USS America (CV 66) and the USS Constellation (CV 64). He flew a total of 300 combat missions over North Vietnam and Laos.

On January 19, 1972 he and his back-seater, Bill Driscoll, engaged three MIG-17s north of Quang Lang Airfield and shot down the lead aircraft. On May 8, 1972 he engaged three MIG-17s and destroyed the MIG chasing his wingman while he was being fired upon by the other two aircraft.

On May 10, 1972, in one of the most famous air battles in history, Cunningham was pulling off target after a flak-suppression mission south of Hanoi when his flight was attacked by 22 MIG-17s, MIG-19s and MIG-21s. During this dog fight he shot down three of the 22 MIGs giving him a total of five victories and forever designating him as the first ace in Vietnam, a feat that only one other pilot accomplished during the entire Vietnam War.

One of these kills was a MIG-17 he shot off his executive officer's tail while he was being directly attacked by four MIG-17s, two MIG-19s and four MIG-21s. For this action, "Duke" Cunningham was nominated for the prestigious Congressional Medal of Honor.

After his third victory of the day, he turned to the sanctuary of the Gulf of Tonkin, but was hit by a surface-to-air missile forty miles over enemy territory. Using the skills acquired by training and his valuable "know your equipment" acumen, he nursed his badly damaged F-4 Phantom to the Gulf where he and Bill Driscoll ejected and were rescued out of the water.

"Duke" Cunningham was decorated with the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, the Purple Heart, 15 Air Medals, the Navy Commendation, a South Vietnamese cross of Gallantry (Star Cluster), Cross of Gallantry Oak Leaf, and the Selective Service Medal.

"Duke" has been married to Dr. Nancy Cunningham for twenty-seven years and has three children: April Dianna, Carrie Melissa, and Randall Todd Cunningham. "Duke's" Radar Intercept Officer (back-seater),William "Willy" "Irish" Driscoll is the Godfather to his oldest daughter, April Dianna Cunningham.

"Duke" wrote the popular book FOX TWO in 1984 about his fighter pilot experiences. He was an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School "TOP GUN" at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego. Many of his real life experiences as a navy pilot were depicted in the movie "TOP GUN". He served as the Commanding Officer of the elite Navy Aggressor Squadron that flew Russian tactics and formations to train U.S. Fighter Pilots at NAS Miramar and around the world.

After retiring from the Navy, he accepted the position as Dean of the School of Aviation at National University in San Diego. Congressman Cunningham was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 and has returned to his office with strong support from his San Diego County constituents every two years since then. In Congress he serves as an influential member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and on the Subcommittee on National Security. He also serves on the Select Committee on Intelligence, and on the Labor, Health and Human Services Committee.

"Duke" has been recognized by a large number of civic organizations for his many contributions to the community and society as a whole. His work for strong, community-based education has led to his recognition as the Education Impact Aid Man of the Year and Library Man of the Year, among other awards. Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The National Federation of Independent Business, and The National Taxpayer Union have recognized his commitment to job growth, tax relief and a strong economy. "Duke's" work to keep our neighborhoods safe has led to endorsements by the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, the National Association of Police Organizations, the Deputy Sheriff's Association of San Diego County, and several other law enforcement groups.

Our congressman works for drug-free schools, quality education for our children, a strong and efficient national defense, and a smaller, more efficient government that works with us rather than against us.

Randy "Duke" Cunningham is indeed, a Congressman we can be proud of. He cares about the future of our community and our country.

Disgraced lawmaker's wife intensely private, protective of her family

Nancy Cunningham stood by her husband, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, in July when he declined to seek re-election. Two years later, Nancy filed for divorce and a restraining order.

When Nancy Jones married Randy “Duke” Cunningham in 1974, she was a smart, good-looking kindergarten teacher barely out of school; he was a Navy flying ace whose heroics had earned him fame and admiration.

It was a second chance for both.

“He is a very aggressive spontaneously assaultive person,” she wrote in a court declaration, “and I fear for my immediate physical safety and well being.”

But the couple reconciled, and the union survived for 32 years despite marital hardships: his son's drug addiction, prostate cancer and a cross-country relationship. The couple also prospered individually, Nancy as a school principal and administrator, and Duke as a congressman elected eight times.

Just last fall, longtime friend Charles Nesby said the couple were as affectionate as “two teenagers together.”

That wasn't long before Cunningham, a Republican representing the 50th District, admitted taking $2.4 million in bribes, trading his influence for cash, antiques and mortgage payments. He admitted he hadn't declared the income on the couple's tax returns and resigned.

Since then, Nancy Cunningham has been fighting legal battles of her own. She's suing to keep the government from taking her half of the couple's real estate profits as it recovers the bribe money. Federal prosecutors haven't ruled her out as a target of their investigation. Her attorneys say she didn't know he was taking bribes.

The couple live apart.

reference

Hunter, Duncan Lee

Top Gun Enterprises Inc.

Randy 'Duke' Cunningham: Archive