By Dan Eggen and Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 6, 2007

A defense contractor was convicted yesterday in federal court in San Diego of showering then-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) with more than $700,000 in bribes, including money for a mortgage, a yacht and prostitutes.

Brent R. Wilkes, 53, was convicted on 13 felony counts, including bribery, conspiracy, fraud and money laundering, and faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 28. His attorney said he plans to appeal.

The conviction is the latest victory for federal prosecutors in their ongoing investigation of corruption scandals surrounding Cunningham, who is serving an eight-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2005 to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from Wilkes and others.

During a three-week trial, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego alleged that Cunningham, a former member of the House Armed Services Committee, helped steer more than $100 million in government contracts to Wilkes's businesses, primarily for scanning Pentagon documents into digitized form.

In exchange, prosecutors alleged, Wilkes gave Cunningham $500,000 to pay off a mortgage, $100,000 for a yacht he never purchased and other gifts, including the services of two prostitutes during a stay at a Hawaiian resort.

Cunningham was not called as a witness by either side. Wilkes, who testified on his own behalf, maintained his innocence and said he never bribed Cunningham or any other members of Congress.

"I don't believe this case was proved beyond a reasonable doubt," Wilkes attorney Mark Geragos told reporters in San Diego, according to wire services. "Obviously I'm very disappointed. I think he shares the confidence that we'll get it reversed."

The trial was filled with illustrations of the seamier side of influence-peddling, including testimony about lavish dinners, luxurious vacations and the two prostitutes who said they were hired as part of the Hawaii trip. Wilkes, on the stand, said he had never seen them before.

But Wilkes's nephew Joel G. Combs, who worked at his uncle's company, ADCS Inc., testified that Wilkes gave him cash to hire the prostitutes, one of whom testified that she had identified Cunningham from a photo lineup. Combs also said Wilkes gave him money to lose at poker games with Cunningham.

One bit of evidence was a short movie that Wilkes put together for Cunningham of their underwater viewing of fish during the same Hawaii trip, which cost the contractor about $50,000.

For his part, Wilkes insisted that he was just doing what was legal in Washington and defended the earmarking system that provided him valuable contracts. He said that he received letters from members of Congress who supported his business proposals because they were good for the country, and that other supportive lawmakers had more clout than Cunningham.

Geragos told jurors during closing arguments that Wilkes was engaged in "business as usual in Washington."

But prosecutor Jason A. Forge said of Wilkes: "This man was the architect of a multimillion-dollar corruption scheme, and he has the defense of a 5-year-old."

Wilkes is also charged in a separate case connected to a childhood friend, former CIA executive director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who allegedly was offered a job by Wilkes and treated to lavish golf vacations in exchange for help getting government contracts. Wilkes's attorneys have said he was just being generous to an old friend.

Two others have pleaded guilty to federal crimes for their dealings with Cunningham, including Wilkes's friend and fellow defense contractor Mitchell J. Wade, who admitted giving Cunningham more than $1 million for $150 million in government contracts.

The prosecution of Cunningham and related defendants came under scrutiny by Congress after the Justice Department's decided to fire Carol C. Lam, the U.S. attorney in San Diego who oversaw Cunningham's guilty plea and other developments. Some Democrats alleged that Lam may have been forced out in an attempt to short-circuit the probes, but Justice Department officials said she was removed for other reasons.

Staff researchers Madonna Lebling and Julie Tate contributed to this report.