The Congressman: Randall ?Duke? Cunningham
A Navy flying ace during the Vietnam War who was first elected tothe U.S. House of Representatives in 1990. The California Republicanresigned from the House in disgrace in 2005 after it was discovered thathe had received millions of dollars in bribes for using his influence tohelp two I.T. contractors win several hundred million dollars in Pentagoncontracts. Cunningham is currently in prison, serving a term of eightyears and four months.
The Contractors:
Brent Roger Wilkes
In 1995, San Diego businessman Wilkes started a system integration andsoftware company called ADCS (an acronym for Automated DocumentConversion Systems) in Poway, Calif. Soon after he began making contactsin Washington, according to the Justice Department, Wilkes and anothercontractor gave Cunningham at least $2.4 million in bribes. In turn, ADCSgot at least $80 million in Department of Defense and intelligence contracts,the government claims. Wilkes has been indicted but vehementlymaintains his innocence.
Mitchell J. Wade
The head of MZM, a high-tech national security outfit based in Washington,Wade, according to the Justice Department, began receiving majorDepartment of Defense and intelligence contracts after he began winingand dining Cunningham at some of the most expensive restaurants inWashington, also plying him with antiques, expensive cars and the servicesof call girls, and providing him with under-the-table payments. The JusticeDepartment claims MZM gained more than $160 million in Pentagon contractsbetween 2002 and 2005, thanks largely to Cunningham. On Feb. 24,2006, Wade pleaded guilty to lavishing more than $1 million in bribes onCunningham. He is said to be cooperating with federal investigators andfaces up to 11 years and three months incarceration.
The Watchdog: Scott Amey
The general counsel of the Washington-based Project on GovernmentOversight (POGO), Amey says the Cunningham scandal underscores the alltoocozy relationships between lawmakers and contractors. ?It?s time forCongress ? to look at itself and the way that it works currently,? he says.
The Prosecutor: Carol Lam, U.S. Attorney
Last year, Lam led the case to convict Cunningham of tax evasion, conspiracyto commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud. On Feb. 13, 2007,she won indictments against Brent Wilkes. Two days later, she was firedby the Justice Department. Some congressional critics charged Lamwas too focused on investigating lawmakers at the expense of importantissues like immigration. Lam has declined all requests for interviews.
The Ex-CIA Analyst: Melvin Goodman
Goodman was a senior analyst in Soviet affairs at the CentralIntelligence Agency, where he worked for two decades (1966-1986).He later served as a Soviet analyst at the State Department, and he iscurrently professor of international studies at the National War Collegeand a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. Goodman saysthat the CIA?s vaunted Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T),which once formed ?the strongest technical team in the intelligencecommunity,? has been made far less effective because of politicalin-fighting with the Pentagon and reduced resources.
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