Posted on 02/14/2007 3:49:41 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SAN DIEGO – Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes and former CIA official Kyle “Dusty” Foggo began their legal proceedings in San Diego's federal court Wednesday.
After arriving at the downtown courthouse amid cameras and flanked by their attorneys, the two men entered not guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy, money laundering and defrauding the public of the honest services of a public official.
Wilkes also pleaded not guilty to a charge of bribing of a public official.
He is to remain free on $2 million bond, which will be secured by equity in his home and the homes of two of his brothers and a $500,000 bond. Foggo was required to post a $200,000 bond.
After the brief hearing, the two men were fingerprinted and photographed by U.S. marshals in the basement of the federal courthouse.
When Foggo left the courthouse shortly before 10:30 a.m., he did not respond to a reporter's question about whether he had sold out the government.
Wilkes also refused to answer reporters' questions when he left fifteen minutes later. His attorney, Mark Geragos, said Wilkes would be issuing a statement later in the day.
Geragos told reporters that after 18 months of an “unrelenting campaign of leaks,” that he and his client were looking forward to answering formal charges.
“We do welcome the opportunity now to be in the courtroom,” he said.
After walking through a throng of reporters and cameras, Geragos and Wilkes climbed into a black Ford Excursion and drove away.
On Tuesday, a San Diego federal grand jury handed down indictments against the two men, who became enmeshed in the congressional corruption scandal involving Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Rancho Santa Fe.
U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, who leaves office Thursday, called the charges against the two men “breathtaking in scope.”
The indictment details the lavish gifts Wilkes bestowed on Cunningham so he would steer federal government contracts toward his flagship company, ADCS Inc. The gifts included cash, vacations, computers, meals, tickets to a Super Bowl game and prostitutes. In all, Wilkes gave Cunningham more than $700,000 in gifts.
A separate indictment details what authorities called the corruption of Foggo, who held the No. 3 spot at the Central Intelligence Agency before he resigned.
Prosecutors say Foggo failed to disclose to the agency that he had a close relationship with Wilkes, his lifelong friend, and that Wilkes gave him with gifts, expensive dinners and trips. The indictment also says Wilkes promised Foggo a job at his company, which he also failed to disclose.
If convicted, Wilkes and Foggo, both 52, could face up to 20 years in prison. The government is seeking $12 million in restitution from the defendants.
During Wednesday's hearing, prosecutor Phil Halpern told U.S. District Judge Larry Burns that the case against Foggo was a little complicated because it involves some classified information.
Halpern also said the witnesses and evidence in the two cases largely overlaps that used in the prosecution of Cunningham.
Another defendant, John T. Michael, a 35-year-old New York mortgage banker, also entered his not guilty plea Wednesday. He's accused of obstructing justice by providing false testimony to the grand jury about Wilkes' role in paying off the $500,000 second mortgage on Cunningham's Rancho Santa Fe home.
Michael was freed on $250,000 bond.
The trio are scheduled to be back in court on April 2.
U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, who leaves office Thursday, called the charges against the two men “breathtaking in scope.”
He hired that hack Geragos? May as well get fitted for his orange jumpsuit now.
This is an impossible act.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.