Associated Press
Thursday, November 1, 2007

A defense contractor was fined $1 million yesterday by the Federal Election Commission -- the second-largest campaign finance penalty in the agency's history.

Mitchell J. Wade, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to paying former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham more than $1 million in bribes, and his former firm, MZM Inc., acknowledged violating campaign finance laws by funneling $78,000 in corporate contributions to GOP House members Virgil H. Goode Jr. of Virginia and Katherine Harris of Florida.

The FEC found no wrongdoing by Goode or by Harris, who is no longer in the House.