Posted on 10/06/2006 5:53:15 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SAN DIEGO
The estranged wife of disgraced former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham will be left destitute but won't face prosecution for her role in the bribery scandal that landed him in federal prison.
Under terms of a settlement deal filed Friday in San Diego federal court, Nancy Cunningham will be held liable for nearly $1.7 million in back taxes and penalties to the federal government but will not face criminal charges relating to her husband's activities. The federal government had filed civil claims against her last year.
"This was a compromise settlement," said her attorney, Douglas Brown.
Brown said Nancy Cunningham intends to file for divorce "very soon," but declined to give any details.
She and her husband have been separated since July 2005, when FBI agents raided their 7,628-square-foot home in ritzy Rancho Santa Fe, seizing rugs, furniture and jewelry.
Nancy Cunningham will receive a $760,000 credit for equity in the mansion, which the pair bought for $2.5 million in 2003 with help from defense contractors. The house was sold for $2.6 million to a newspaper heir last December, with all profits going to the government.
She will be responsible for paying the remainder of a $1.68 million tax liability for bribes her husband accepted but did not report on joint tax returns she signed.
"The reality is that although she didn't receive those bribes directly she certainly benefited from them," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Forge. "What this ends up meaning to her will be a life in debt."
Cunningham, a Republican who held seats on powerful House intelligence and appropriations committees, admitted last November that he accepted $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors in exchange for government contracts and other favors.
The payoffs included more than $1 million to pay down a mortgage on the Rancho Santa Fe mansion.
In his plea deal, Cunningham agreed to forfeit the house, $1.8 million in cash, and a catalog of antique furnishings that fetched $94,625 at auction in March.
In an August interview with The New Republic, Nancy Cunningham dismissed many luxury items given to her husband as bribes including yachts, apartments and a used Rolls Royce as "not that great" and described their estate as "a fixer-upper."
Cunningham resigned from Congress last November and was sentenced in March to more than eight years in federal prison. He is currently housed at a federal correctional center in North Carolina.
Nancy Cunningham is currently living with her elderly mother in San Diego, according to another of her attorneys, James Macy.
She and her husband married in 1974 and have two daughters.
Nancy Cunningham will receive a $760,000 credit for equity in the mansion,
Hardly destitute..............
Too bad her fortunes are tied to that of her scoundrel husband.
She who lives on the high hog through bribery....
Sorry, can't muster up a tear for her.
Uhhh, yeahh. Sure. Yep.
I think the "credit" goes towards her tax liability... she gets nada.
Not broke enough, baby!
After it's all summed up, she's in the red.
Looks like she was in a "reasonably should have known" her husband was
doing dirty deeds, otherwise that "innocent spouse" thing would have kicked
in a bit more.
Agree. There is NO way you can live that "high on the hog" and not have a reasonable suspicion about where it is coming from. Congressmen are paid too well in my opinion but not THAT well.
Congress voted away his pension. The bitch needs to get a job.
The IRS is a criminal institution. With a FAIR tax, there would be no money owed, because all of their spending would have paid it in full. She may have lived high on the hog, but she will be still drawing money from the treasury of some govt till she dies.
How would the Fair Tax made them eligible for the bribes? What, he was going to pay taxes on the commode and the Rolls Royce? Be for the fair tax, but don't be silly.
It was fun while it lasted. Any other congressmen on the take looking for a female companion?
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