Yacht owned by defense contractor docked at Cunningham's slip

[Rose Siding]

A defense contractor whose real estate dealings with Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham have raised ethical questions has another connection to Cunningham: He owns a boat docked at a Washington yacht club ---- a boat on which Cunningham stays while working in the Capitol.

Cunningham, R-Escondido, sits on the House Appropriations Committee, which has awarded millions of dollars to the contractor, Washington-based MZM Inc.

The relationship between Cunningham and MZM President Mitchell J. Wade came under scrutiny earlier this week when news surfaced that another company controlled by Wade purchased Cunningham's Del Mar home in 2003 and later sold it for a $700,000 loss.

Upon learning of the transaction, some experts on government ethics questioned the real estate deal and the relationship between the contractor and the congressman.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/16/news/top_stories/2005-6-16-22-58.txt

Kinda strange that Wade named "his" yacht (wink wink) the "Duke Stir"

[funkybutt]

1. It's all about the contracts

News like this just makes me wonder how many more similar cases are out there yet not being investigated. Is this conflict of interest NOT ILLEGAL?? Am I missing something b/c it seems such a blatant violation of ethics codes.

[MindPilot]

4. When I worked the federal government

and I was just a mechanic at the base gas station, we had ethics seminars like every other month. THE number one rule was "avoid impropriety or the appearanceof impropriety. You didn't have to actually do anything wrong, but if you let it look like you were doing something wrong, it was still wrong.

I guess rules are for little people...and democrats.

[Bozita]

2. Substitute "Hillary" for "Cunningham"

Would there be an ethics investigation?

[MindPilot]

3. Has anyone sent this info to Randi Rhodes & Mike Malloy?

These guys just can't keep their hands out of the cookie jar, can they?

[TahitiNut]

5. A $700,000 bribe ... largely tax-exempt.

It was in 2003 (same year that Wade overpaid for Duke's home) that the tax laws were changed to permit a one-time capital gains exemption on the sale of a personal residence.

Coincidence? I think not. This is not only bribery, it's tax evasion - hiding ordinary income (a bribe) under a fraudulent real-estate transaction. Even the taxable part of the capital gain was taxed at half the rate of ordinary income for someone in Duke's tax bracket.

These bastards should be doing jail time.

[MindPilot]

6. "These bastards should be doing jail time"

at Gitmo...well because the chow is so good, just ask Duke's buddy Duncan Hunter. Rice pilaf and two types of fruit!!