Free Republic

In the face of stagnating growth in MZM the Fed is pouring money into the system.

WASHINGTON - Disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham parlayed his seat on the Intelligence Committee into winning at least $70 million in authorizations that benefited two contractors who — in turn — paid him millions in bribes. That was a key finding, released Tuesday, in a declassified summary of a report by the panel's independent investigator. It confirms what has long been suspected: The intelligence committee was one more venue that the California Republican exploited to help his associates. The report finds that Cunningham secured the cooperation — or at least the noninterference — of many people. That included Congress...

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...

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. Across the continent in San Diego, federal prosecutors and Cunningham's estranged wife, Nancy, are said to be inching closer to a deal resolving what happens to the money from the sale of the couple's former Rancho Santa Fe estate. K. Lee Blalack, Cunningham's Washington-based attorney, said Wednesday that the former congressman was doing well when he spoke to him by telephone last...

TAMPA - A defense contractor who pleaded guilty Friday to bribing a California congressman told federal authorities he also funneled illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris of Longboat Key, who's running for the U.S. Senate. The contractor, Mitchell Wade, former chief executive of MZM Inc. in California, pleaded guilty to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California and receiving more than $150 million in Defense Department contracts in return. He also pleaded guilty to making about $80,000 in illegal campaign contributions to two other Congress members - identifiable from court...

While the problems surrounding Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham have gotten plenty of play in the media, it begs the question of why the House ethics committee, was silent on it. "Five months ago, as the scope of the federal investigation into Cunningham's conduct became clear, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called for the House ethics committee to launch an investigation. Under House rules, an outside person or agency isn't allowed to make an ethics complaint. So the group shopped around among members of Congress to see if someone was interested in filing a complaint against Cunningham. No...

Rep. Alan Mollohan (W.Va.), the top Democrat on the House ethics committee, has received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and gifts to a family foundation from MZM Inc. and another firm that did business with MZM. The former owner of MZM, Mitchell Wade, is at the heart of the recent scandal that toppled ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.). The Californian pleaded guilty last week to accepting $2.4 million in bribes, fraud and tax evasion charges. The donations to Mollohan were perfectly legal. But the fact that the top ethics cop for House Democrats received significant sums from the...

ROSEDALE, N.Y. – In its third wave of raids linked to the investigation of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, federal agents on Thursday searched the New York home and office of a controversial businessman who has had a series of financial dealings with the congressman. Agents seized records belonging to Thomas Kontogiannis, a Long Island developer who pleaded guilty in 2002 to bribery and kickback charges in connection with a $6.3 million bid-rigging scheme involving the New York public schools. Kontogiannis has known Cunningham since shortly after the Rancho Santa Fe Republican arrived in Washington 15 years ago as a freshman...

WASHINGTON – When Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham first responded to questions about his dealings with defense contractor Mitchell Wade, he stressed that his position on the House defense appropriations subcommittee did not enable him to secure contracts for Wade's company, MZM Inc. "I do not have the authority or ability to award a contract to Mr. Wade's company and no single member of Congress, no matter how influential, can dictate to the armed services who will be awarded contracts," the Rancho Santa Fe Republican said during a June 23 news conference. While Cunningham's claim is technically correct under the government's...

The U.S. Attorney's Office has filed a secret lawsuit against Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham that contends he should forfeit his Rancho Santa Fe home to the government because it was purchased with illegally obtained money. Notice of the lawsuit and the government's interest in the property was filed with the San Diego County Recorder's Office. Cunningham's attorney, Lee Blalack, declined to comment yesterday on the lawsuit but said he had filed a motion challenging the U.S. government's legal claim on the house. The home – a five-bedroom, eight-bath Spanish colonial estate on Via Del Charro – was listed for sale...

Claim filed on Cunningham house          U.S. lawsuit seeks forfeiture of property By Dani Dodge UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER August 18, 2005 Randy "Duke" Cunningham's Rancho Santa Fe home was listed for $3.5 million. Embattled MZM sold to investment group The U.S. Attorney's Office has filed a secret lawsuit against Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham that contends he should forfeit his Rancho Santa Fe home to the government because it was purchased with illegally obtained money. Notice of the lawsuit and the government's interest in the property was filed with the San Diego County Recorder's Office. Cunningham's attorney, Lee Blalack, declined to...

Departure likely to block Democrats' shot at districtRep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's announcement that he will not run for re-election next year did nothing to lift the spreading ethical cloud hanging over him, but it lifted a cloud of political angst over the Republican Party and touched off an instant scramble among ambitious Republicans. The Rancho Santa Fe Republican is under investigation by a federal grand jury, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington over his financial ties to defense contractor Mitchell Wade. In announcing July 14 that he would not seek a ninth term, Cunningham, 63, maintained he...

Thomas T. Kontoginnias, a Long Island developer, says he doesn't particularly like politics, so he never does business with the federal government. Still, he hit it off with Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham years ago, and recently, Kontoginnias bought Cunningham's 65-foot yacht, the Kelly C, and helped the California Republican finance a house.

House Democrats said Tuesday that they would run newspaper advertisements this week criticizing the ethics of six House Republicans, including Representative Randy Cunningham of California, who is under investigation by a grand jury looking into his ties with a military contractor.... Mr. Wade paid $1,675,000 for the house and sold it nearly a year later for $975,000, for a loss of $700,000 in one of the hottest housing markets. Mr. Cunningham said he "showed poor judgment" in selling his house to a friend who did business with the government. Moreover, he said, "I showed poor judgment in not listing the...

Boat sale by 'Duke' made him $400,000 Buyer's kin were lenders of Cunningham mortgage By Jerry Kammer and Marcus Stern COPLEY NEWS SERVICE July 5, 2005 CITY ISLAND, N.Y. – Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham made roughly a $400,000 profit by selling the boat he lived aboard in the nation's capital from 1997 to 2002 to a businessman convicted in a bid-rigging scheme. The man said he subsequently got advice from Cunningham about how to pursue a presidential pardon from the Bush administration. The businessman further acknowledged that a mortgage company owned by his daughter and nephew provided Cunningham with two...

Agents raid Cunningham home, MZM office, yacht (Rep. Duke Cunningham) Lawmaker's lawyers: Surprise searches an 'appalling abuse' WASHINGTON – In a dramatic sign of a fast-moving, bicoastal investigation, federal agents searched the Rancho Santa Fe home of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham yesterday, along with the Washington office of a defense contractor linked to the Republican congressman and the yacht where Cunningham had lived. Cunningham's lawyers criticized the government's actions as an "appalling abuse of government power" and "strong arm tactics." The federal task force that conducted the coordinated, surprise raids on opposite coasts included agents from the U.S. Attorney's Office...

Federal agents on Friday searched the offices of a defense contractor tied to Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) as well as the boat Cunningham lived on for more than a year, the latest sign of a growing investigation into the relationship between Cunningham and Mitchell Wade, founder of MZM Inc.

FBI Searches Home of California Congressman at Center of Federal ProbeBy Seth Hettena Associated Press Writer Published: Jul 1, 2005 SAN DIEGO (AP) - Federal agents on Friday searched the California home of U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, along with the yacht in Washington, D.C., where he has been living, the FBI said. Agents from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and the Defense Department's criminal investigative service also searched the Washington offices of a defense firm whose founder bought the congressman's previous home, leading to a federal investigation, said Debra Weierman, a Washington FBI spokeswoman. Cunningham, 63, has said that...

After 11 days of near silence in the face of mounting controversy, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham released a three-page statement yesterday acknowledging that he "showed poor judgment" in selling his Del Mar house to "a friend who does business with the government." The Rancho Santa Fe Republican added that he welcomed "all appropriate investigations" and expressed confidence that they would show he "acted honorably and honestly." The controversy stems from Cunningham's 2003 sale of his Del Mar house to Mitchell Wade, a Cunningham friend and founder of the Washington, D.C.-based defense contracting company MZM Inc. Wade put the house back...

Washington -- Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, pounced Monday on the ethical troubles of a fellow House member, Republican Randy "Duke'' Cunningham of San Diego County, who is under investigation for an alleged sweetheart real estate deal with a defense industry lobbyist. "Attention Powerful Lobbyists,'' read the headline in a satirical advertisement Stark bought Monday in the online editions of CongressDaily and the Hotline, a political roundup. "House for sale by influential member of Congress." A San Diego federal grand jury and the FBI are investigating Cunningham, who sits on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, for his sale of a home...