Trial Starts in Corruption Case involving US Lawmaker (Brent Wilkes in Cunningham Case)

[Hissyspit]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Trial starts in corruption case involving US lawmaker

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A defense contractor appeared for the first day of his trial Wednesday on charges that he paid 700,000 dollars in bribes to a former prominent US lawmaker who has since been sentenced for corruption.

Federal prosecutors accuse Brent Wilkes, the chief of firm ADCS Inc., of bribing former representative Randall "Duke" Cunningham in exchange for the California politician's help in winning lucrative government defense contracts.

- snip -

The Justice Department accuses Wilkes of showering Cunningham with "cash, checks, meals, limousine service, corporate jet travel, lodging, furnishings, boats, prostitution services, vacations and entertainment." In return for the bribes, the indictment alleged that Cunningham used his public office to influence the awarding of more than 100 million dollars' worth of defense contracts to Wilkes.

- snip -

The CIA's former number three official, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, has also been charged with fraud in connection with the scandal.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071004/ts_alt_afp/ustrialpoliticscorruption_071003234312

[aquart]

1. Seems a little ...small, contracted, incomplete.

Way incomplete.

[acmavm]

2. To defraud one's country in a time when one's pResident says

we're at war seems just so treasonous to me. You know, like Prescott bush** treasonous.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. From the AP article

Defense Contractor's Trial Opens
By ALLISON HOFFMAN – 13 hours ago

<snip>

On a large screen in the courtroom, assistant U.S. attorney Phillip Halpern displayed photographs of a jet boat Brent Wilkes is accused of buying for Cunningham and a receipt for a $3,000 dinner.

"This is not how Washington normally works," Halpern told jurors during his opening statement. "You're going to hear testimony that this was not business as usual."

<snip>

Cunningham, a San Diego Republican who was elected to eight terms, is serving more than eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2005 to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from Wilkes and others.

The prosecutor said government employees would testify about phone calls they received from Cunningham demanding multimillion-dollar payments to Wilkes for work that, in some cases, was not yet completed.

more...

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRUhowrjXrAojU5jM1zd2hyExSAQD8S25CHO0

I wanted to include a reiteration of the fact that former Republick Congressman Randy Cunningham is now a Duke-in-Stir.

[kineneb]

4. break forth the popcorn

this should be interesting... the Dukester and friends are such slime.
:popcorn: