Former Lawmaker Gets Eight-Year Prison Term

SAN DIEGO -- Former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a decorated fighter pilot in Vietnam who admitted taking $2.4 million in bribes from two defense contractors, was sentenced Friday to eight years and four months in federal prison for selling his office.

U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns imposed the sentence after prosecutors argued for the maximum 10 years and defense attorneys suggested that six years was enough because Cunningham, 64, is suffering from various physical ailments. The California Republican resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy to commit bribery in November.

Appearing much thinner than he did last fall, Cunningham choked up as he addressed the judge. "No man has ever been more sorry," he said. "I made a very wrong turn. I rationalized decisions I knew were wrong. I did that, sir."

Burns said the amount of money Cunningham took "emasculates" previous bribery crimes. Noting that he, too, raised a family on a government salary, the judge said he understood wanting "the good things in life." But Burns added: "You weren't wet. You weren't cold. You weren't hungry, and yet you did these things."

In a related development, the CIA's inspector general is looking into whether Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the agency's executive director and its third-ranking official, arranged for any contracts to be given to companies associated with Brent Wilkes, one of the contractors identified as having made payments to Cunningham. Foggo, a senior intelligence officer handling complex clandestine contracts, is an old friend of Wilkes from their high school and college days. Newsweek first reported the investigation.

"It is standard practice . . . to look into assertions that mention agency officers. That should in no way be seen as lending credibility to any allegation," the CIA said in a statement.

In the San Diego courtroom, Cunningham wiped away tears when his attorney, K. Lee Blalack II of Washington, referred to the former lawmaker's wartime service.

But prosecutor Jason A. Forge said Cunningham should not get a break, pointing out that he spent months denying the allegations after they appeared last June.

The judge recommended the prison term be served in a federal facility near Bakersfield, Calif. In addition, Burns ordered that Cunningham pay $1.8 million in back taxes and penalties plus $1.85 million in restitution based on the bribes he received.

Cunningham admitting using his seats on the appropriations and intelligence committees to earmark funding for programs intended for the companies of Mitchell J. Wade and Wilkes. He then "bullied and hectored" Pentagon officials to ensure their firms, MZM Inc. and ADCS Inc., were awarded federal contracts, the government said.

Wade pleaded guilty Feb. 24 to four criminal charges related to the case. Wilkes has not been charged, though prosecutors said the investigation is continuing.

Babcock reported from Washington. Staff writer Walter Pincus and researcher Madonna Lebling in Washington contributed to this report.